Lost Girls
by x-X-The D'Arch Angel-X-x
Summary: Ashleigh just wanted to play her game. Amanda just wanted to listen to her music. Neither wanted to get kidnapped in the middle of the night, and end up on a strange beach. But who cared? It's all just a game . . . right? T for swearing and violence.
1. Prolouge: As if

**I do not own Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. I only own my original characters.**

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><p><em><strong>Welcome.<strong>  
><strong>To Neverland<strong>  
><em>

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><p>Ocean.<p>

That was the first word my muddled mind pulled from the blackness. The sound of the ocean, waves crashing not too far away.

My eyes were closed and I was laying down, on my back and face upwards. Salty sea air brushed damp hair across my forehead, tickling the wet skin. I was tired. Really tired. Just the thought of opening my eyes made me want to just go back to sleep, or wherever I was before the word 'ocean' drifted across my mind. Actually moving let alone getting up was just a laughable concept.

I was content, for the moment, to lay in the sand and let the back and forth rush of the waves wash over my legs, then retreat back into itself. So calming. So soothing. I could feel sunlight across anywhere my skin was bared, warm where the water was cool. So gentle.

My hand was closed around something, I was suddenly aware. I only realized it, because whatever I was holding twitched. My grip was loose, it could have fallen out easily if that was what it wanted. And I didn't know what it was. So it was free to go. I didn't mind. No. Go. Let me . . . just sleep.

A tropical island breeze blew through my hair again, sighing across my prone body in the sand. More of my mind returned from its muddled state, allowing a big more coherent thought through the buzz. Ocean. Water plus sand plus tropical feeling usually added up to beach. Why was I on the beach, anyway? Let alone unconscious there? How did I get there? What was I holding? And why hadn't I let go yet?

Reluctantly, I came to the conclusion that it was about time to open my eyes. Just opening them would probably cause more pain than not, so I turned my head away from the direction of the sky and tried to crack the dried sand that had collected on my lashes. It took a few moments and a lot of eye-rubbing before I could finally see. And when I could, I looked down at my closed hand.

It was wrapped around another hand.

I followed that hand to a wrist. Then an arm. And a forearm. Then shoulder, a neck, and a messy nest of tangled blond hair. I stared at the blob of color, trying to force my eyes to focus, and remember just what I was looking at. Who I was looking at.

With my other hand, I reached over and pushed it over so I could see a face; the figure was laying on her- Her? Yeah, her- side, hair covering her whole head.

She was young. With a bit of an angled, small face with prominent cheek bones and thin lips. Her lashes were light, but faintly smeared with traces of what may have used to be make up, washed away by the saltwater. Those light lashes laid in a crescent shape atop her cheekbones, gentle and fluttering as she may be dreaming. Then those eyes flickered open, greenish hazel orbs looking dazed and confused. I focused on them. They focused on me.

Then she closed her eyes again, sighing, and didn't move again. Her breath came evenly, the sand and the water and the air lulling her back to sleep. I wanted to follow. Oh, so much, I wanted to follow.

I closed my eyes against the harsh sunlight again too, facing upwards again. The light from the sun made the backs of my eyelids look almost orange, a nice, brownish orange that just looked . . . warm.

Then the orange color faded to black, almost. I opened one eye. Looked up at the silhouette back lit by the big blue sky. An odd form, made up of soft triangular shapes. Funny looking. I stared at it for a few seconds. It stared at me. Just like I did with the girl.

"Hey Jak! What'd you find?"

The voice made my head hurt. It was high and annoying, like a steel pipe to my skull. Quickly I closed my eyes. And I was gone soon after.

* * *

><p>"Do I <em>have<em> to do this?" She asked, the last few words breaking off into a slight whine.

"Yes." I said firmly, a wire in each hand and one more between my teeth. I glared down at my Playstation 2, in the middle of plugging it into the giant flat-screen TV sitting in the middle of Amanda's living room. It was a Friday night, January, so the sun had gone down early. Both her parents were out for various reasons, and her younger sister was across the street with the neighbor's kid. I was sitting on my knees in front of the TV, Amanda behind me and her annoyance clear as the glasses hanging off my nose. She wasn't much for video games. Being a tall, athletic blonde, her idea of fun was more of listen to music and go shopping, or hang out on the farm she worked at and oggle all the studly dudes done up like cowboys. Yeah. She was a country girl through and through, despite being raised in central Jersey.

"But _why?_" She demanded, and when I looked over my shoulder she was hanging off the love seat upside down. I snickered at her hair as it brushed the floor, and she rolled her dirty-green bottle-colored eyes.

"Because I asked. And since you love me, you said yes." I replied with a cheeky grin. Amanda scowled and muttered a few choice words under her breath. One of which started with the letter 'f', ended with 'uck', and definitely wasn't the word 'firetruck'. I turned my attention back onto the hunk of plastic and metal, frowning at all the damn places to plug it in. I gotten a new game the day before- one of my favorite games when I was younger. The years had sent it and all the sequels off to GodKnowsWhere, and I'd managed to talk my mother into ordering them anew. And, while I had my own flat screen TV at home but it was considerably smaller than my best friend's, I begged, and I begged, and I begged, and she finally let me bring my stuff over to play.

"What are you even going to be doing, anyway? And, what am I going to be doing?" She asked with a tone that let me know she really didn't care, but she was just bored. And annoyed.

"I'll be playing _Jak and Daxter,_ and unless you decide 'Hey! This looks fun! Can I try?' . . . you're on your own." I replied, taking the last wire out of my mouth, which I'd been talking around the past couple of minutes.

"This is my house, you know," She said dully.

"Yes. But I pretty much live here." I picked up the TV remote and tried to set it to video. I waited. Then tried again. "Fuckin' piece a . . . " I growled at it.

"Oh, give me that," Amanda rolled off the couch and got into lotus position next to me on the floor. Or criss-cross-applesauce, whichever you prefer. I pouted as she effortlessly got the big TV onto Video 1, and when the green light on my Playstation turned on, I squealed and shuffled backwards with the controller in hand. Amanda gave me a wide-eyed, disturbed little stare. "That . . . was weird."

"I'm fangirling, get used to it," I stuck my tongue out at her as she crawled after me. The first of the _Jak and Daxter _games had been stuck into the disk port, and I could hear it whirring as the game started up. Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm going to get popcorn. You want some?" She got to her feet as the sponsor commercials came up silently.

"Please and thank you!" I called after her, snickering sadistically when I saw Daxter getting knocked over by the NaughtyDog symbol. Microwave buttons beeped as Samos started to rant, and I leaned back against the largest couch with a smile. The last time I played these games I was around five or six . . . Seeing Jak and Daxter again was like meeting up with old friends. I didn't really care that Amanda wasn't really interested. I knew video games weren't her thing, but she knew these games meant a lot to me. To the five year old still inside me.

"So how does this game work anyway?" Amanda popped a kernel of popcorn into her mouth as she walked through the dining room back to the living room. "Like, what's the point?"

"Well," I said, glancing at her then back at the game, as Jak and Daxter hid behind a group of rocks while Gol and Maia gave their rant to the lurkers. I chewed my lower lip. "Just watch. The guys went to Misty Island, even though it's forbidden because, well, it's forbidden." She snorted a laugh. Guys were guys. Video game or otherwise. "See, if you watch, they saw those two people talking to the animal-looking things- those are called lurkers. Now they're sneaking away, and see that purple gunk? Keep your eye on that."

"Okay," Amanda said slowly, brushing her sandy blond hair off her forehead. We sat there for a little while longer. I smirked, looking over at her totally weirded out expression. "Did he just turn into a weasel?"

"Yep."

"An orange weasel? With goggles?"

"Yep."

" . . . this game is weird."

"Yeah." I laughed, shaking my head as the skull-faced lurker was defeated by Jak and the boys went back to Sandover. "But I like it. One of my escapes, y'know?"

"Sure," Amanda said, and I saw her rolling her eyes. "The blond one is your Video Game lover, right?" She asked, smirking. But then she squeaked when I threw a pillow at her face.

"Shut your face, dumbass! It's a game. I'm allowed to fangirl. That's my life. I'm a fangirl." I grumbled, getting the controller ready as Jak jumped through the warp gate.

"And I'm a country girl. What a pair we make." Amanda remarked through a handful of popcorn.

I laughed, busting boxes and destroying the premade training scarecrow things, pretty much just getting my feel for the controls back. "Opposites attract, I've noticed. And hey, it's okay if I like a fictional character. It's not like I'm ever going to meet them. Fictional means fake. So it's all okay."

"Whatever makes you feel like less of a creeper," Amanda rolled her eyes. I whacked her with a pillow again. "OW!"

"That didn't hurt!" I snapped.

"Did to!"

"It's a pillow!"

"But it hurt!"

"Pillows don't hurt! That's why they're pillows! To not hurt!"

"Why I aughta-!" Amanda let out a battle cry and grabbed a pillow off her couch, proceeding to swat me over the head with it. I dropped the controller, leaving Jak and Daxter to stand there in the middle of Geyser Rock. I grabbed my own weapon, smacking her back.

"Oh, bitch, it is _on!_" I crowed, getting onto my knees to continue our bloody battle of couch cushions. Speaking of which . . .

I hit Amanda with the corner of the pillow in the side, making her squeak and stumble back. I threw it into her face next, before diving behind the ottoman to grab the biggest cushion of the couch. I ripped it out, getting up and holding the weapon over my head. "BONUS POINTS equal AN UPGRADE!" I cackled like a maniac, getting up onto the ottoman and jumping over it to produce an aerial attack.

"Cheater!" She shrieked, nearly falling over when I tackled her with my new and improved pillow.

"Bigger is better, bitches!" I crowed, knocking her over and scrambling to pin her down by sitting on her back. I held my head up, triumphant.

"Get off of me!" She snapped, rolling over and pushing me off. I landed on my own back with a cry and a thud, before letting out a small whine.

"Ooooowww . . . "

Amanda got back onto her feet, brushing off her black yoga pants. "Well, you started it."

"Can't you ever let me win? Just once?" I kept whining, deciding that getting off the floor wasn't worth the effort. Amanda took martial arts, had been for the past few years. I'd hoped that surprise would work on my side for the epic pillow battle of epicness, but nope. Denied.

"Not likely," Amanda sang sarcastically, picking up the unharmed bowl of popcorn. "Are you still playing that?" She asked, and I craned my neck to see her giving the TV an annoyed, but curious look.

"Yeah," I nodded, setting my head back down. "Just let me be a lump, kay?"

I could almost feel her rolling her eyes as she put the bowl back down to get back into her spot, but before she could a loud banging noise could be heard from the front door. I raised my head curiously as Amanda groaned and straightened. "Is that Julianna?" I asked. "I thought she was spending the night with Jared across the street."

"She must have forgotten something, ugh," Amanda handed me the popcorn bowl, which I sat up to happily begin eating. "I'll let her in and get rid of her. If you're going to play the game, play it."

"I am, I am," I huffed, chomping on a handful of popped corn with enough butter to cause a heart attack. I scanned the floor for the PS2 controller as Amanda unlocked and opened the door.

"Hey, Julianna, what did you for . . . . " Her voice trailed off.

The bowl flew into the air and popcorn went everywhere as Amanda let out a sudden, ear shattering scream. I practically threw the controller onto the floor and bolted to my feet, rounding the corner and skidding to a stop. "What-?" I shouted, before I slid across the wooden floor in my socks.

A tall woman had pushed the door open, the screen hanging broken off its hinges and letting in the cold winter air. A chill went down my back, from the weather or from fear, I didn't know. She had her hand wrapped around Amanda's wrists, pining them down with one hand while holding her hair in the other. Her skin was an odd color. In the dark I couldn't quite make it out, but it was unnatural. She had long, white-blond hair and red eyes that glared almost straight through Amanda before snapping to look at me. Her ears were elfin-shaped, pointed outwards. She was dressed in a red corset, accented with black leather and almost orange-looking body armor on her breasts and knees. High heeled boots clacked on the polished wood floor as she dragged my purely terrified friend forward.

"A_r_**e y**_**o**__u t_h**e **_**o**_**n**_e_** w**e_** a**_r_e __l_**o**_ok_i**n**_**g **_f_**o**_**r**?" She asked, her voice echoing like there were three people speaking through her. Her eyes pinned my body in place, and slowly my eyes began to widen as I started to recognize her. But no. That was impossible. Insane. Amanda knocked me out in the pillow fight. Right? Right?

"**S**h_e_ _**i**__s_ t_o__**o**_ b**r**_**i**__g_h**t**." The woman sneered when I stared at her in frozen terror. "_A_**n**d _**s**_o _i_**s** _t__**h**_i**s** o_n__**e**_."

A hand ran itself down my hair, weaving its fingers through and down. I shivered and screamed, whirling around. "B**e** _p__**a**_**t**_i_e**n**_t_, _**S**__i_**s**t**e**r. H**e**_r __**p**__o_t**e**_n_**t**_**i**_a_l_ i_**s**_ **a**_l_l **t**_**h**__a_t _m_a**t**t_e_r**s n**_**o**__w_."

I stared at him, as I stepped backwards, nearly falling into Amanda's sister's fish tank. No. No no . . . !

The tall, thin man with his beady red eyes bent forwards, reaching out to run fingernails that felt like claws down the side of my face, trailing my jaw line. I shivered. " . . . no . . . " I whispered.

"**W**_e_ _t_**a**k_**e**_ _h_e**r** _d_a_**r**_k**n**_e_**s**s." The man announced to the woman.

"**A**_n_**d** _t__**h**__e_ **l**_i_**g**_**h**_t**e**_r_ **o**_n__**e**_?"

"H**e**_r_ **t**_o__**o**_." He smirked, showing off wicked rows of sharp, razor sharp teeth. "I **l**_i_**k**_e_ _**o**_b**e**_d_**i**_e__**n**_c**e, **_d_**o**_n_'t **y**_o_**u**, _m__**y**_ _d__**a**__r__**l**_i**n**_g_, _**Legacy**_?"

Thunder cracked as Amanda screamed again. Or was it me? Was I screaming? But that was impossible. Insane. There was no way this could have been happening.

Because there was no possible way Gol and Maia could be here, right now. The dining room flashed bright purple and blue as the world spun, careening out of control. Gol reached for me with a growl better fit for an animal than a man. I felt his talons on my neck. "**S**_i_**l**_e_**n**_c_**e** _**h**_e**r**!" Maia shrieked when I started to scream.

And boy, did I scream.

And screamed.

And screamed.

I was falling. Thunder cracked again. Rain started to roar on the roof of the house. The room flashed, I saw Amanda's tears.

Then I was drowning.

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><p><strong>That's why you don't play video games during a thunderstorm, kids. Until next chapter!<strong>

**~xAngel  
><strong>


	2. 1: So not Neverland

**Chapter dos! :D I do not own Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Not Neverland<strong>

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><p>I remember floating. I remember waking up on the beach and in the sand. I remembered seeing the dark shapes, blurry around the edges and faded in the sunlight.<p>

I remember being lifted from the sand. Dripping in salt water and maybe other crap. Who knows. Who cared? I was tired. So, so tired . . .

I remember opening my eyes and looking at the sun, then at the shapes. Soft triangles, and faint colors . . . silent eyes looking down. Blue. Big and blue. The colors died to black and I was gone again.

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><p>Maybe it was a dream. All just a nice dream, while I laid on the floor of Amanda's living room after getting knocked out with a pillow. That was a nice thought, wasn't it? Just a dream.<p>

Those were the thoughts that went through my head when it was coherent enough to work. It wasn't like the world came crashing in at once. It was a slow process, coming back in pieces. First I was aware of laying down. It was a lot more comfortable than the hot sand. A bed? No . . . not enough depth. Soft, but not a bed. Comfortable, but still concerning. This was in no way, shape or form my bed, or any couch at Amanda's, let alone the floor. So where was I?

Next came my thought processes. Problem-solving, if you will. Confused about location? Dumbass, open your eyes.

I felt my eyes flickering open, then shut again. Ugh. Mind says get up. Body says 'lol _nope!_' So I laid there for a few more minutes. More senses came back on their own. I could hear the sound of waves crashing. I could smell the salt in the air. Huh. So. Dream idea thoroughly sunk. So it happened. It all happened. Gol and Maia broke into my best friend's house. But . . . did that mean I was . . . ? And Amanda-?

I jolted upright, bed shaking wildly back and forth. I let out a shriek when the hammock tipped me upside down and dumped me onto a hard wood floor. Pain shot up from my arms and knees, pulling a groan out of my throat. "Ooowwww . . . " I laid my head on the floor, just waiting for the room to just stop spinning so I could get up. "Ow, ow, ow . . . "

"Well," Chuckled a deep voice. "That's one way to wake up, isn't it?"

I pushed myself over onto my back, now looking up at the ceiling. "Tell me about it," I whined. It was a thatched, cone shaped roof, make out of browned leaves and branches. All kinds of odds and ends hung from the various sticks hanging off, like green gems that glowed, balls of green mist that hovered in mid-air, leafy green vines going up the walls and hanging like nets. Like the very forest treetops had been pulled inside and used as wallpaper. After a few minutes, I tightened the muscles in my stomach and forced myself to sit up, rubbing my eyes. Then I realized I was talking to someone.

I turned my head sharply to the side and up again.

A short, green-skinned man with long, elfin-shaped ears and a Dumbledore-esque white beard was floating in the air not too far away from the hammock I was laying in- excuse me, just fell out of. His white hair was wrapped around a log of wood, and there were two more smaller logs tied to his feet to give the illusion of being taller. He dropped to the floor, wooden cane and shoe-logs clacking on the wood floor. A blue and yellow bird fluttered around his head before landing on a little twig sticking off the end of his log. I stared at him for a few, tense seconds of silence.

I looked down at my hands. Then at him again. Then at my hands, then him. I reached over and pinched my shoulder. It hurt. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit oh shitshitshitshitshit . . .

Samos the sage raised an eyebrow. "Girl? Are you alright?"

I nodded, slowly, unable to speak.

Gol and Maia kidnapped me. I was in Sandover. I was awake. Totally lucid. No drugs, never touched anything. Samos walked closer. " . . . girl?"

I screamed.

Loud, sharp, sudden, and breaking off into a terrible coughing fit directly afterward. I held my throat as I hacked, trying to ignore the way my sore throat was now thoroughly punishing me for the abuse. After all the screaming I did at Amanda's . . . I guess it was a miricale I could even talk.

Footsteps pounded the wood floors outside the wide open door of the hut. "What happened?" Shrilled a high-pitched voice. "Is she awake?"

A thin, lanky boy with similar ears to Samos skid to a harsh stop in front of the open door. His hair was long and grew upwards away from his face, orange and slowly fading to a dark red at the tips. His skin was tanned, but his body wasn't exactly in the best of shape, and he hung over panting like he'd sprinted the whole way up. He had cyan blue eyes, and buck teeth, dressed in a white shirt under a red vest, with dark brown pants and no real shoes. Just leather around the ankle and bandages around the sole. I stared at him for a few seconds, not quite sure who this kid was.

"Yes, Daxter," Samos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She's awake, if you couldn't tell."

I looked at Samos, then at the boy. Daxter? _This _was Daxter? But he . . . he wasn't . . . why wasn't he a . . . ? . . . my head hurt . . .

"Oh, you poor, poor beauty," Cried Daxter as he ran inside, the ends of his goggles hanging off either side of his face. He got down on one knee, holding out his bandage-wrapped hands. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

I shuffled backwards, as _far_ away as I could get. I pinched my shoulder again. Ow. Nope, still not dreaming.

Samos clomped over and whacked the redhead over the skull with his cane. "Leave the girl alone, will you?" He snapped. "She's been through much, I can tell. Give her room to breathe!"

I swallowed again, looking up at the cream-colored hammock and taking a hold of the edge. I used it to pull myself up, wobbling on weak knees. I was still in my jeans, but they felt crusty and heavy from being caked with wet sand. My shirt felt like it was sitting wrong . . . and I didn't even want to know my hair situation. I reached up to rub sand off my face, and twitched. My glasses were gone. Fuck.

"Ashleigh!"

I looked up just in time to get bowled over by about a hundred pounds of country girl. Once again on my back, I blinked a few times to force my vision back from trying to imitate a tilt-a-whorl. "Ow." I muttered dryly. Was it possibly to stay upright? At all?

"Sorry!"

Dead weight was lifted off my pained body, which also happened to be sore. I lifted myself up with my elbows, shaking my head and looking up at Amanda. Her eyes were large and teary, face terribly pale. "Where are we what's going on who are these people why are we here and why do we all have such big damn ears?" She screamed into my face in one long breath

I stared at her, not catching a single word of that. " . . . what?"

"Daxter, Amanda, you guys just ran off!" I looked at the door again.

Average height with short, dark blue hair that darkened to green, big cerulean eyes and thin lips, all legs, was Keira. She held a wench in one hand, hanging loosely. Purple pants with suspenders and a white tank top made up her outfit, and her face looked concerned. "Ah, your friend woke up! Jak!" She turned to wherever the hell everyone was coming from. "She's up!"

" . . . what the fuck . . . ?" I whispered, blinking. I turned to Amanda. "Hit me. Pinching isn't working."

"I tried that!" Amanda hissed. "Where the hell is Sandover? What the hell happened? What are we doing here? We washed up on a _beach!_ We weren't anywhere near a beach!"

"Uh," I stuttered, swallowing. "I don't know . . . " I looked down at her death-grip on my dirty-ass black tee-shirt. "But you can let go of me."

Reluctantly, her fingers loosened, and let me go. I used her shoulder to stand again, this time managing to stay that way for longer than three seconds. Okay. Upright. Alert. Two battles down, a million to go. I turned to Amanda, mind working fast. "I . . . don't know why we're here." I answered slowly, trying to think things through while keeping her calm. Normally I was the spaz, but now she just seemed so ready to go berserk I had to do something. "I don't know how we got here, b-but . . . " I paused. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A day and a half," Amanda scowled, crossing her arms. I eyed her death glare, and blinked at the cosmetic change. Swallowing again, I gestured to the spot. Her scowl deepened. "Yeah. I _know._ Be _glad_ you weren't awake for that."

"She threw a rock at me," Daxter muttered.

" . . . right," I said in a 'don't wanna know' tone.

"So," Coughed Samos. "Amanda tells us your name is . . . Ashleigh?"

"Oh, yeah." I nodded to him. "Sorry. Just . . . a lot to take in."

Samos nodded. "Understandable." I rubbed my eyes, sighing. "Our resident 'heros'," He said it like he was using the term loosely. "Found you on the beach yesterday during low tide. You girls are lucky, had you been there too long the waves could have drowned you."

"Is that a fact?" I hummed, still rubbing my eyes. Freakin' felt weird to not be able to see. "Well, thanks." I looked up to the doorway and spotted the last person to arrive. He must have come up when I was distracted, silently of course. His hair stuck upwards, like Daxters, but was considerably longer. His eyes were dark blue, with his goggles keeping his hair out of his face. Blond but green at the roots and eyebrows. His skin was smooth and dark tan, with a square jaw line and a firm, but still slim body type. He noticed my caught gaze and bowed his head in a nod. A silent your welcome.

"Well, my little angel from the waters," Chuckled Daxter as he sided up to me and Amanda. She pinned him with vicious glare, but his gaze was only on me. "I, happen to be Daxter, the brave and the wise. I carried you from your potentially watery death to this safe haven where I-"

I held up a hand as Jak let out a snort, rolling his eyes. "Save it," I frowned. "You weren't carrying me." I turned to Jak, offering a more personal thank you, which also got a nod. I remembered enough of that hazy few moments to know it was him to took me back here.

"Oh no," Amanda scoffed. "The pervert was carrying _me,_" She glared at the redhead, who chuckled nervously, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "And trust me, he'll live to regret it."

Keira giggled into her wrench-free hand. "Anyway, Ashleigh, right? I'm Keira, and Mr. Quiet over there is Jak. My dad," He pointed to Samos. "Is named Samos. We're all glad you're awake and okay."

"Define 'okay'?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes some more. Couldn't see for _shit._ Amanda frowned.

"Oh yeah. You're glasses. You lost them, didn't you?"

I gave her a deadpan look. "Kinda hard to hold glasses onto your face when your unconscious in the ocean."

" . . . point taken."

I sighed. "Thanks for the hospitality, but we need to get home. Amanda and I should be going."

"Oh, you aren't going anywhere," Samos said. Amanda bowed her head with another scowl.

"He says there's not really any way out of Sandover." She huffed, crossing her arms. "The only way is by boat, or through some volcanic place called Fire Canyon."

"So we're suck," My eyebrow twitched.

"Seems like it."

"Fuck."

"Yep."

I sat on the hammock and swung. Well, this was just my day. Been awake for all of ten minutes and I was already getting a mother of all headaches. Fun fun fun. I knew exactly where I was, before the beginning of the first game. How far before was anyone's guess. I didn't know how Gol or Maia even got us here, but from where I was looking, there wasn't a way out. I dropped my head into my hands. Of all the damn places to get kidnapped to, why'd it have to be Sandover? Couldn't we have just been taken by Peter Pan or something? Sandover was no Neverland. At least there you could fly home if you wanted to.

A hand touched my shoulder and I looked up. Samos was giving me a gentle, wise look. "Amanda has already explained to us that the two of you are not quite from around here, rather loudly, I might add. And although some of her explanations didn't make much sense, I will see what I can do about finding a way to send you back."

I smiled. "Thanks, Samos." Leave it to Dumbledore to know what to do. Right now though, my best bet was playing dumb and keeping Amanda's yap shut. The last thing she needed to do was go out and let the whole village know it was a video game. That we were stuck in.

"For the moment, though, you should go with Keira and get yourselves cleaned up." Samos continued, waving at his daughter, who smiled kindly. Amanda frowned, and I just sighed. Girl was damn cheery. Why hadn't I noticed that before? "Then, feel free to do what you like in our little village," His eyes narrowed behind glasses that made his eyes look disproportionate. "But . . . please do try to stay _out _of trouble." Here he sent a glare toward Jak and Daxter, who grinned.

"Don't worry, green stuff," Daxter chuckled innocently. "We'll make sure they're good." Jak nodded, crossing his arms like trouble was something he never affiliated with. I raised an amused eyebrow. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "We can show ya around later, if you're up to it!"

"Great." Amanda muttered, deadpan. For a moment, I wished _Jak and Daxter_ was an anime, so I could sweatdrop. I laughed uneasily, looking back at the people that were probably out best ticket out of there (if Amanda didn't kill them) and scratched the back of my neck. I mentally begged her to keep her cool. The last thing anyone needed was her tempter to go nuts.

I hopped off the hammock, waving my arms to keep my balance and _not_ fall over again, and smiled at Keira. "You know, I think a bath sounds really nice right now."

"I'll say," Amanda gave my tangled mess of hair a look, and I snapped her a glare.

"Shut your face."

Daxter snickered and Jak shook his head with amusement. Keira giggled at our antics. "Go ahead and meet me downstairs whenever you wanna go, I'll be waiting!"

Amanda crossed her arms when she left. "That girl is way to happy."

"This coming from miss optimism." I remarked dryly.

Amanda gave me a glare. "Not in the mood," She scowled, and stormed out. I felt my shoulders slumping when she was gone, and I reached up to rub my eyes again. Damn headaches.

I looked up when I noticed that I'd been left alone with the boys. Samos had floated off to do God-Knows-What, and Jak and Daxter were looking at me curiously. I coughed. "S-so . . . what d'you guys do around here for fun?" I asked, trying to avoid an awkward silence.

The boys looked at each other. I noticed then that while he wasn't much of a talker, Jak made up for it with his facial expressions and body language. Telling from the way a mischievous smirk split his face and how he crossed his arms over his chest, it wasn't hard to make the assumption that the beginning of the game wasn't very far off.

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><p><strong>I know I'm not the best writer, but I also know I'm not the worst. I'm still learning, so I'm happy to hear any kind of comments or constructive criticism. Please review! <strong>

**~xAngel**


	3. 2: Fun and Games

**__I like this chapter, to be honest with y'all. It's nice and long, so please forgive the long wait xD And shout out to SunnyDee13, for being the first reviewer! Thanks a bunch!**

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><p><strong><em>Fun and Games<em>**

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><p>"You can't tell anyone anything," I said in a harsh whisper, before dunking my head in a tub full of ice-cold water.<p>

I held myself under, counted to four, then pulled out, flipping my hair out of my face.

It was about an hour after I'd woken up in Sandover village, and to be honest, I figured I was taking everything pretty well. I wasn't going through spastic withdrawal of denial, like Amanda was. Every so often I'd hear her mutter to herself about how bad of a coma she was in, and this was one of the most messed-up dreams she'd ever had. Attempting to get her to see the bright side of things was pointless, so I didn't try. Instead, I was focusing more on trying to get all the dried salt out of my hair without any form of shampoo.

I was sitting next to Amanda in a back room of the hut, wringing out my damp hair as she glared at herself in one of the well-polished machine parts Keira had left laying around. She reached up and made a small whining noise as she touched her now extended ears, looking absolutely miserable.

Being the daughter of a professional stylist, Amanda usually did herself up every day. Make-up to the extreme. Eyeliner of various colors, mascara, foundation, acrylic fingernails painted (sparkly-colored, of course,) and God never forget her extensions. Her hair was naturally about shoulder-length, a couple inches shorter than mine. But since she hated short hair, her mother got her hooked up with over forty hair extensions to make her blond mane almost reach her breasts. However, the saltwater had loosened the clips and they'd fallen out in the ocean, leaving behind the horrible short hair of shortness. Her make-up was long gone too, and by her uncomfortable body movements it was like she felt practically naked.

She kept picking at her shirt, though, like it brought her comfort-zone just a little bit closer. It was a loose-fitting, almost night shirt, with a big teddy bear face on it. Amanda was crazy about teddy bears. She had hundreds of them in her room, beanie babies, build-a-bears, you name it. She just liked fuzzy things. And though the shirt looked a little odd, even I had to admit it was adorable. So I didn't bother her about it.

I scratched at my head, scowling when I still found more sand there. Back into the bucket, I suppose.

Coming out again with another gasp, Amanda scowled away from the water I was splashing. "Sorry," I said, quickly grabbing one of the towels Keira had left for us. I scrubbed my head some more, and after another dunk, decided that it was just a loosing battle. I sat back and tied my hair back turban-style with the towel, and crossed my legs. " . . . you okay?"

"No," She huffed. "I'm not."

Her glare when vicious and she smacked the machine part off the wall, making the metal clang and crash across the wooden floor. I stared at it, startled, before she came over and sat down heavily by my salty ice-cold bucket of hair water. "Why are we here?" She demanded.

"I don't know," I answered honestly.

"Why did your video game come to life and attack us?"

"I don't know,"

"Why are my ears so long? They're ugly!"

"I don't know."

Amanda grit her teeth and looked away. "I wanna go home."

" . . . I know."

I chewed my lower lip, and sighed. I reached up to fiddle with my own elongated ears. It had been awkward to avoid them when I was wrapping my towel. My head felt a little heavy and almost too wide. Once in a while they'd brush against a wall or a door frame and I'd have to remind myself that they were real, and I could feel them. I wasn't scared so much as fascinated. They felt like normal skin, normal cartilage like in my nose. They still bent and twisted if I moved them with my fingers, bending only so far before it started to hurt. I shook my head and lowered my hand. " . . . why can't we tell them this is a video game?" Amanda asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Think about it this way," I started to explain. "How would you feel if you just happened to find two people stranded and unconscious, brought them home with you, then have them wake up and going around saying that everything is a giant video game?"

" . . . I'd think those people would need a reality check."

"Exactly."

Amanda tugged on her short hair like it would make it grow faster. "But this isn't reality. It's a video game." She groaned and held her forehead. "Nothing here is real!"

" . . . It feels real." I said softly. The air smelled like ocean. The wind was gentle on my skin. The bucket-water was cold and the green sun was warm. My ears felt like they were a real part of my body. Why we'd grown them was beyond me, but trying to figure things out wasn't my style. Puzzles always used to annoy and frustrate me more than anything. "Maybe it is real."

"Ashleigh," Amanda said with a stern look. "We are in a _video game._ How the hell is that supposed to make sense?" She demanded with a deep scowl. "How is all this," She waved around the little back room. "Supposed to be real?"

I dropped my eyes to the floor and kept my mouth shut. She may have been right. Or wrong. This could be real, or it could be a dream. Either way, I couldn't seem to find any answer for her. Right now, keeping her calm was my best option if we wanted to get home.

We looked up when Keira knocked gently at the door, a concerned look on her face. "Are you all right? I heard a loud banging coming from in here."

Amanda snorted at her word choice, and I kicked her in the leg, making her squeal. "We're fine, Keira," I said, glaring at Amanda before looking up at the mechanic. "I just knocked that . . . thing off the wall." I pointed toward the polished metal Amanda had been using for a mirror.

"Thing on the . . . " Keira trailed off as she followed my gesture. "Oh! I was looking for that!" She went to grab it and hold it up. "I was hoping to use this with my newest project. Do you wanna see?"

"Sure," I smiled, trying to be nice while Amanda hummed in response. This was an odd twist for us. Usually, I was the pessimist and Amanda was Miss Optimism. Not today. We got up and followed Keira out, into the large open space that over looked Sandover village. Keira walked over to her hunk of metal that I remembered would eventually become the -zoomer. I blinked at the wiring and machinery for a few seconds, then shared a look with Amanda.

" . . . what is it?" She asked.

"I'm calling it a zoomer," Keira said with a big, proud grin. "When I'm finished, it should be able to fly over the ground, saving all kinds of time and energy you'd spend walking!" She set Amanda's makeshift mirror against the platform the hovercraft sat on, dusting off her hands. "My father has a couple power cells he doesn't need, and I'm using them to get it running. If I keep up a good pace, I could be done with it by the day after tomorrow!"

Amanda actually looked a little interested, not so sourly as she was a few minutes ago. She tilted her head to the side, looking over the roughly put-together edges of the machine and the parts that were pretty obvious for a prototype. "That . . . is kinda cool," She admitted. "Hover, as in, fly?"

"Not exactly," Keira chuckled, getting down on her knees to mess with an open panel in the side. "I don't think I can make anything that will actually _fly,_ but I can get it a few feet off the ground, at least."

"Still," Amanda said with a slightly impressed face. "Pretty cool." Then she turned to me. " . . . what's a power cell?"

I opened my mouth to answer but Keira cut me off. "If you wanna know about that sort of stuff, you should talk to my father." She was grinning, but it was small. "I don't know the entire basis of how a power cell works, but I know that if you put it in the engine _juuuuuussst_ right, they can do just about everything." She picked up some wire cutters and started snipping around. Amanda and I waited for her to continue, but after a few more minutes it was obvious she'd gotten herself absorbed in her work again. I turned to leave, beckoning for Amanda to follow.

"Now where are we going?" She sounded whiny.

"To talk to Samos."

"Why?"

I climbed the walkway up to his floor of the hut. "Because he's like, the smartest man around right now? Who may be our only ticket home?"

"Meh."

We got to the second floor and hesitated in the doorway. Samos was floating around, messing with the green pipes of eco and all his plants. I didn't want to startle the old man, and glanced at Amanda before knocking on the door frame. Samos whirled around.

"What in the Precursor's name do you two want?" He demanded, making Amanda squeak. She ducked behind me as the green-skinned man flew at us. Then Samos stopped, blinked, then chuckled. "My bad, my bad. I forgot you girls were hanging around. I thought you were Jak and Daxter." He shook his head with a deep chuckle. "Wonder why I did, though. That boy never seems to shut his trap."

"Jak?" Amanda blinked.

Samos rolled his eyes. "Daxter." He corrected. "Jak doesn't seem to need to talk- the other one does enough chattering for two."

I pushed Amanda out from behind me. "We were wondering if you could tell us about power cells. Keira was talking about a few of them she was going to use for her thingy." I reached up to tuck some hair back behind my ear and realized I was still wearing the towel. I took it off, shaking out my dark hair. "Like, um," I folded the towel awkwardly. "How exactly do they work?"

"Ah," Samos sighed, drifting off into the air again slowly. "The power cells were created long, long ago. All built for the use of the great beings that once walked this same earth. Precursors."

"What's a Precursor?" Amanda asked. Samos raised a puffy white eyebrow, but seemed to think better of anything he was about to say. Instead, he used his cane to point out toward the village and the skyline beyond.

"Look there, girl. Over the cliffs, and the trees. Above the Forbidden Jungle, so you see the rotating orbs and axles and hoops?" Samos asked. The sunlight in our faces made it a little hard to see, but the shapes he talked about were easy to find. "Underneath those floating relics lies a temple made of metal, hidden inside of trees and plants and natural eco. That temple was once a sacred place, built tens, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years ago. They have left behind their tools, and their creations. Their eco, and their legacies . . . "

This word made me shiver, just for a second.

"But not a single trace of them is left. Precursor metal is one of the strongest alloys we sages have ever found. How they were able to use it to both harness eco, channel it, and even preserve it, we do not know."

Samos sighed again, setting himself down and thunking his cane against the floor. He shook his head, standing on the other side of Amanda and just looking out over the wide expanse of the world as the green sun's colors began to sink along the horizon. "I have spent my life searching, for the answers that my fathers, and my father's fathers failed to find. Just who were the Precursors? Why did they create the vast monoliths that litter our planet? How did they harness eco, the life energy of the world? What was their purpose, and why did they vanish?" He huffed, looking up at us, then at his little lab.

"I have asked the plants, but they do not remember," Samos continued, brushing along the tendrils of a plant in the corner. One that was twice his height, and had teeth. Lots of em. "The plants have asked the rocks, but the rocks do not recall. Even the _rocks_ do not recall." The old man shook his head again, like I would have if I was stuck on an advanced math problem that I hadn't learned how to solve. He left the plant and walked to the open balcony-like area again, and looked down. We followed him outside, finding a few village children to be playing in the waning sunlight. Jak and Daxter happened to be two of them.

"Every bone in my old aching body tells me that the answers rest on the shoulders of a young boy." Samos said softly, before he huffed in annoyance. "_Oblivious_ to his destiny, _uninterested_ in the _search for truth_! And rejecting all my guidance!"

I glanced at Amanda, who looked like she was trying not to snicker. This had started off as a pretty inspiring speech about the Precursors . . . now it just sounded like an old grouchy guy ranting.

"And why would he want to listen to old Samos the Sage, anyway?" He grumbled, crossing his arms. "I'm only the _master_ of green eco, one of the wisest men on the _planet_!"

Amanda and I just let ourselves laugh at that one, and to his credit, Samos didn't seem to care much. I looked back down at all the kids playing with a little ball, before Jak suddenly dove in and stole it, kicking it back the other way faster than the younger kids could go. He passed the ball to Daxter, who caught it, before proceeding to trip over said ball, and take a faceplant.

Jak couldn't steal the ball back, he was laughing so hard. Rubbing tears of mirth from his eyes, he looked toward the direction of the wind and saw us standing up there on Samos's balcony. He waved. I waved back, smiling.

Then Daxter threw the ball at the back of Jak's head, and the game was back on. Samos huffed. "Always childish."

I shook my head with one more giggle as Amanda snorted at the boys' being goofy. I turned to Samos. "A young boy, huh?" I asked with a smile. "Who do you think that is? Daxter? Or Jak?"

Samos gave me a look that said 'are-you-crazy?' "Girl, what in the Precursors' name made you think it's going to be either of _those _two idiots?"

I blinked. " . . . just a hunch." I said slowly, looking at Amanda, then back at Samos.

"Trust me," He chuckled sarcastically, putting a hand on my shoulder. "If the two of you girls want to find your way home, trust in the Precursors. Not in Jak and Daxter."

Samos nodded to Amanda, then to me. That was his sweet goodbye, before he returned to his little lab and left us outside in the Sandover sunset.

* * *

><p>Cold metal.<p>

Jangling rusty chains.

A roar.

It was not a human sound at all.

* * *

><p>Tap.<p>

. . . . .

Tap.

. . . . .

Tap. Ta-tap!

" . . . maybe they're not here."

"Sh."

My bed swung slightly back and forth. The air smelled weird. Not like my bedroom.

. . .

This was not my bedroom.

I opened my eyes to a dark room. The ceiling was at about average height above my head, but it wasn't shaped the tight way. That, and I was swinging. a slight breeze. Gentle.

I sat up slowly, trying not to tip myself. My bed was a hammock. My bedroom was a back storeroom. Amanda was in her own hammock on the other corner of the room, sleeping. Mumbling slightly to herself, but sleeping.

It took me a few seconds and about seven eye-rubs to remember where the hell I was. It was the storeroom of Keira and Samos's hut in Sandover. I blinked. Okay, so, I suppose it was possible to wake up inside of a dream, right? It's possible. Just to be sure, though, I pinched myself. "Ow," I whispered dryly. Nope. Not a dream. Fuck.

Something tapped against the window pane. That must have been what woke me up.

I pushed the light blanket off my legs and reached for my jeans, having taken them off to be more comfortable before going to bed. I walked to the window, tossing bedhead out of my eyes. I grumbled slightly, getting up onto a bookshelf full of tools and crap. "Who's throwin' crap at the window?" I growled, rubbing my eye again.

"Hey beautiful!" Daxter called, grinning to show off his buck teeth. "G'morning!"

He and Jak were standing under the window, about three feet down from me. The sun hadn't come up yet, so as far as I could tell, it was no where _near_ morning. I crossed my arms on the frame and rested my chin on them. "Wha'doyou guys want?" I slurred, yawning. "The sun isn't even awake yet. . . . and don't call me beautiful." I said, deadpan.

"Get your friend!" Daxter lowered his voice to a whisper but he projected it. "Jak says he wants to go check something out."

I blinked, turning to the silent blond. "Jak . . . says?"

Daxter gave me a 'forget about it' hand flap. "Come on! Get those butts outta bed and let's go!"

"I am out of bed. And I'll be going back to it." I yawned, being just a little theatrical with it with an exaggerated hand motion. But I didn't leave the window, just stared down at the boys boredly. " . . . where are we going?"

Daxter glanced at Jak, who had the face he gave when I woke up in Samos's lab. "He won't tell me." He huffed, then looked back up. "But it'll be fun! And staying cooped up in there can't be good for your mental health."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "I don't have any mental health."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daxter called. "Wait- where are you going?"

I dropped from the bookshelf and stretched, before going over to Amanda. She would kill me for this, but hey, how many kids get to actually be a part of a video game? . . . although, judging from all the fanfictions around the internet, it must happen pretty darn often . . .

"Hey," I said, shaking her shoulder. "Hey, lump, wake up."

Amanda grumbled something about peanut butter coolatas and her dipshit ex boyfriend before she rolled over and gave me demon eyes. "What?" She growled.

"The game is starting. And we have front seats." I smirked.

Amanda glared. Then she rolled over and pulled the thin blanket up over her head.

Okay. Well, that didn't work. Now I had to think of another way to wake her up. What should I do? There were several things I could have done. I could have pulled her ears, I could have gotten myself started on The Song That Never Ends . . . or . . . ooh . . . I had an idea.

I took hold of the rope holding her in the air and untied it. Then watched as the hammock fell and she let out a screaming squeak. A pile of blankets squirmed around on the floor before she popped her head out, hair everywhere and eyes furious. "What the fuck is your problem?" She snarled. "Haven't I told you not to wake me up?"

I raised an eyebrow, then poked her in the forehead hard enough to knock her over. She screeched, falling onto the floor again. "OW!"

I flung a hairtie at her. "Come on, let's go."

Amanda grabbed the hairtie and started to pull her mess of hair back. "Why? Go where?"

"Just get off your ass." I rolled my eyes and looked out the window again. Jak and Daxter were still down below, but they were giving each other odd looks. Confused by the noises, I was sure. Oh well. Girls were weird, I'll admit it.

It took a few minutes, but Amanda was successfully scraped off the floor and put back into her clothes. She grumbled to herself as we snuck ourselves out. I wondered briefly how neither Samos or Keira noticed all the screaming and cursing, but the thought passed quickly when we got outside. Amanda paused when I did, waiting as I yawned and stretched. The air was a lot cooler without the sun, and it was actually kind of nice. The slight chill was nice to wake me up. Glancing at Amanda though, she was scowling and holding herself while shivering. I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You're cold?" I asked. Amanda glared at me.

"I'd freeze in summer. On the sun. You know that." She snapped.

"Meh."

The guys came around the corner and waved, and we walked toward them. Jak and Daxter led us across the bridge and through the small village, behind an empty hut to a dock. Below was a gray wooden speedboat with a large propeller on the back of it floating in the water. Amanda stopped short when she saw it. "Oh. Uh uh. Nope. Not gonna happen."

Daxter raised an eyebrow. "What? No sense of adventure?"

Amanda gave him a tired glare. "I'd much rather sleep. Where are you even taking us?"

Daxter smiled. "You were such a stick in the mud the other day. We decided you need to see that his place isn't so bad after all!" He turned to Jak, who was quietly looking around the huts back up the cliff. He jumped down next to us and gave Daxter a thumbs up. "Jak says he knows just the place to go."

"Again." I blinked, turning to the silent blond as he followed Daxter onto the boat. "Jak . . . says?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I don't care. The only place I want to go is back to bed. Now." She turned around. I quickly grabbed the back of her shirt and dragged her back into place.

"And if we said we were going with you," I played along, pretending I had no idea what was happening. "Where would we be going, exactly?"

Jak smirked, putting his fingers to his lips. "Surprise," Daxter translated with a roll of his eyes. "He wont even tell me."

I weighed the options. I could either get onto the boat and go with the boys to Misty Island, or go back to Samos's with Amanda. While sleep did sound like a grand idea, so did having a front-row seat to an important piece of my childhood. Choices. Daxter and Jak were looking at me expectantly, while Amanda was drilling holes into the back of my head. Priorities came first.

I broke into a big smile. "Sounds like fun!"

"_What?_" Amanda demanded.

I pulled her to the edge of the dock and ushered her onto the boat. She grumbled darkly when we sat down, and Daxter laughed. Jak took a few minutes to get the engine running, then we were off.

Once Amanda woke up, she seemed to be less grouchy. She actually looked interested in the ocean as we went along, and the sky above. Jak relaxed against the head of the boat, while Daxter tried and failed to keep himself steady and not throw up over the edge of the boat.

There wasn't much talk around the speedboat, and I found the silence comfortable, actually. I took the short time to just think, about random things and the like. Like my dream from before. I couldn't remember much details about it, rather just the feeling it gave off. It wasn't pleasant, but, I doubted it was a total all-out nightmare.

Daxter stumbled past, pulling my thoughts back to the rest of the world. I put my dream behind me, instead asking him if he was alright. When Daxter stopped wobbling to nod, he fell over the side of the boat. Between Amanda and I freaking out and Jak actually pulling the redhead back on board, the problem was fixed easily. He laughed sheepishly and Jak gave him an eyeroll, which was met with a glare.

Daxter took off his goggles to shake out his wet hair, then put them back on. He frowned, kicking the side of the boat. "Stupid boat." He grumbled.

Amanda and I laughed. A few seconds passed, and a fog started to roll in. I looked up and around. The island stuck out of the waves in rocky chunks, hidden behind the thick gray air. It loomed above like the skeleton of a dragon, staring us all down Jak directed the boat to dock. The boards were waterlogged and old, rickety and moldy. Instead of pulling up to it, thankfully, the speedboat crunched along the gravel shore, lit only by the faint orange glow of burning torches. Daxter swallowed.

"Th-this was your surprise, Jak?" He said, looking back and forth along the beach like a deer in headlights. "O-old green stuff told us not to come here!" Jak waisted no time to leap over the edge and slosh onto shore. He looked over his shoulder at me and Amanda, then at Daxter. He raised an eyebrow, waving us along. Daxter swallowed, then straightened. "Not- not that I'm scared, or anything! I'm- I'm just looking for the girls!"

Amanda and I shared a look, before following nodding in sync and getting out. "We can take care of ourselves, don't worry about us, darlin'," Amanda said, her tired voice lazing around her words. She scowled when her yoga pants got a little wet, and winced at the rocks under her bare feet. We caught up to Jak, who turned to Daxter. He arched his eyebrow again.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Daxter cried, following quickly. Jak rolled his eyes and snickered, before nodding his head toward a trail. I shrugged at Amanda, and followed when he started walking.

I supposed Samos was right. None of the real important answers came from careful research or sensible thinking. In fact, deciding to get on the boat was one of the stupidest ideas I've ever had. Taking Amanda with me just added more crazy to the situation. I guessed that the only real way to kick everything off was one small second of pure, undeniable courage and stupidity, and a small, simple act, of disobedience.

* * *

><p><strong>Let the games begin.<strong>


	4. 3: Trial and Error

**Hey guys! This one isn't quite as long as last time's, but it's still a length that pleases me, haha. Anyway, as always, hope you enjoy!**

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><p><strong><em>Trial and Error<em>**

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><p>The video game did not do Misty Island any justice.<p>

The game made the whole island look creepy, sure. But seeing everything in person, I was able to realize that Misty Island wasn't just creepy. It was threatening in every way, shape, and form.

The fog hung around everything in a cold, humid cloud. The rocks along the shore were painful to walk on. What few gnarly trees grew along the path Jak led us down, were tall but dark in color, barren of leaves and all around looking dead. There were cracks in the stone ground, and I was genre savvy with myself enough to know that if I didn't pay close attention to them, I'd trip. That didn't even account for the large gorges in the ground. One false move around the edges would lead to a drastic fall and a watery death. Not a pleasant thought . . . but it was that thought that urged me to plant Amanda and Jak between me and that death.

Then there were the lurkers.

The purple ones lumbered along with the gait of gorillas, heads shaped like furry frogs with a full set of sharp teeth. And the blue ones, that dressed themselves in bones, they reminded me of the old pokemon Cubone, but I sincerely doubted the bones they wore on their bodies belonged to their dead mothers. I also did not need to know what animal those bones came from in the first place.

Jak, Daxter, Amanda, and I ducked behind a cliff outcropping. "What the hell are those things?" Amanda whispered.

"Lurkers, Dark Eco monsters. Or that's what old Green calls 'em." Daxter hushed back. "They've been spotted outside the village for the past couple weeks. Nobody knows what they're doing out there. The mayor's real irritated 'bout it too," He shared an amused look with Jak.

I slowly inched up the side of the outcropping, peaking around the wall. Another purple furry lurker lumbered past, and a few seconds later, two more came by. "Where are they going?" Daxter asked.

"Dunno," I frowned. I didn't remember this, but I did want to find out what was going on. "Let's . . . " I twisted around the corner . . .

. . . right into the furry back of a lurker facing the other direction.

My first reaction was to suck in a breath harshly. A scream of surprise was building, but a hand clamped down on me before I could so much as held my mouth and nose shut, muting any sounds for the few long seconds it took to yank me back behind the protection of the pile of rocks. I closed my eyes tight and counted to five, nodding my head weakly.

I turned when my face was released, offering a weak smile at Jak, who'd managed to catch me before the impending shit fit. It was a silent apology, and he lifted a finger to his lips and shushed me. I nodded.

"Okay," Amanda whispered. "Let's _not_ do that again."

"Agreed." I swallowed. Then I glanced down at the arm around my waist. "Uh, Jak?" I looked back at him. "You . . . you can let me go now."

He did, holding up his palms. _I'm not touching you! Not touching you!_ Daxter snickered behind him, and Jak snapped a glare around. Amanda and I shared a look, and we shook our heads. Never understood men. Never will.

Jak crawled around Amanda and I, peaking around the wall one hell of a lot calmer than I did. "Where are they all goin'?" Daxter asked softly. Jak chewed his lower lip and frowned, before he looked around. He spotted the wall of our hiding place, and reached up to grab one of the rocks. The three of us on the ground watched in silence as he tugged the rock two or three times, then started climbing.

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked incredulously.

"Up and over," Daxter blinked. Jak turned and freed one of his hands to give the redhead a thumbs up, then kept going. When he reached the top, he stopped and waved at us. "That's our cue," Daxter said, getting up to do his best at following Jak up.

"We're not climbing that thing." Amanda crossed her arms.

I grabbed a rock to follow Daxter.

"I'm not climbing that thing." She huffed.

I glanced down at her from half-way up. She was climbing.

Daxter slipped off a thin ledge, and his flailing to stay up kicked up a small cloud of dust. Jak shushed him sharply. I sided up to Daxter while Amanda ended up next to Jak, and the four of us hung in stunned silence.

Dozens of lurkers were looming in front of a large, Precursor door. Bronzish-colored steps led up to the circular door, implanted straight into the cliff side. It didn't look like the rocks had been hollowed out, more like the bedrock had simply grown up and around the door itself. Purple furry lurkers and the blue bony lurkers hung around the steps, staring at the door in what passed as anticipation. There was a large, flat platform leading up to the door, and that was what the lurkers stared at in almost hypnotic attention.

" . . . what are they waiting for?" Daxter whispered.

I looked at Amanda. She glanced at me, face paling. "Isn't this the part when . . . ?"

A crackle of energy snapped through the air. Sparkling mist drew upwards from the ground, looking more threatening than it sounded. The mist darkened to smoke, and from the smoke emerged two figures, floating in the air. A man and a woman, lit easily by the flaming torches. I shrank down a little bit, ignoring the glance Daxter gave me.

Gol was tall and thin and almost frail-looking. His skin was a pale blue, eyes an ugly sickly yellow and pupils a chilling red. His jaw bones had grown outwards, metallic-looking. The sleeve on his left arm had been ripped off to accommodate his red glove, purple tubes reaching out of it and into his skin, through the muscles and vanishing into his body. The shackle around his waist made him look even thinner, and the iron balls chained to it hung heavily. Had he been anyone else, I'd have been concerned for his well-being. He stared out at the mass of lurkers, eyes like a corpse.

"_Continue your search for artifacts and eco_," Gol rasped, his voice echoing slightly out of his messed-up throat. "_If the locals posses Precursor items, you know what to do_."

Maia touched down onto the platform, her heels clacking against the metal. She took careful time to size up every lurker before her, face cold with a slight maniacal gleam. Her white hair was surprisingly long and voluminous, curling in gentle waves that Amanda would have been jealous of. She seemed to be in much better shape than her brother, his hair drifted weakly along through the air. Her Precursor metal armor shone in the firelight, helmet-mask-thing looking absolutely demonic.

"Deal harshly with anyone who strays from the village," She called, her voice clearer than Gol's. She didn't sound like she was underwater anymore, but Gol sounded exactly the same. "We will attack it, in due time." She clenched her fist, slight smirk curling on her lips. I swallowed, using my foot to try and get the feel of the rocky wall. I had to get down. I had to get down now.

"We are missing a valuable piece to our plan," Sneered Gol suddenly, and I froze. He never said that in the game. "It is not an artifact. It is our greatest work. Find it."

Maia continued for him. "If the creature has been damaged, there shall be no mercy." Her sadistic glee at attacking the village was replaced with cold, calm violence.

And just like that, they were gone, vanishing into the same cloud of dark eco they'd used to arrive. I scaled the wall downwards as fast as I could, and the boys and Amanda weren't far behind. We crouched behind the barrier of stone, waiting in silence as all the lurkers stomped past. Leaving to do their masters' bidding, I guessed. I sat on my knees in the gravely dirt, trying to rub away the sudden chill. Had it gotten colder all the sudden?

"Who were those guys?" Amanda asked me, softly, but Daxter answered.

"No idea," He rubbed his chin, then patted my shoulder. "You okay?"

I forced a smile. "Fine. I just . . . wanna get out of here. Can we leave?" The feeling this place gave me was like a slimy bug crawling up my spine. I twitched and shivered. So what if I completely demolished the entire game series? I wanted out of here. I wanted out of here now.

Jak was standing with his head peaking around the outcropping. He knelt on a boulder the size of an SUV, raising just enough of his head to be able to see. I didn't have the heart to tell him the rest of his neon yellow and green hair was pretty much a flashy sign saying _HEY LOOK AT ME I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!_ He turned around and gave me a little begging look, then held up a finger. _One more minute?_

"Jak says just a little longer," Daxter translated. I chewed my lip, then nodded. I'd regret this.

"Okay."

I used Amanda to stand and we all peaked Scooby-Doo style around the wall. When the coast was clear and all lurkers had left the area, Jak stepped out and looked around. He waved at us, and we followed.

The Precursor metal steps drummed like they were hollow under out bare feet. It was a gift from above to be able to walk on a cool, smooth surface and not sharp and jagged rocks. My feet were crying in gratitude by the time I was going up the third step. Daxter hunched over a little bit, looking back and forth like a Lurker was going to jump out an attack at any second. Amanda looked a little anxious, but hid it well with a poker face of boredom. If I didn't know her so well, I'd think she was just totally done with all this.

Jak scratched his head, looking back and forth. He hummed, another of the few sounds he bothered making. I watched as he stepped up to the door and it spun open almost instantly. Loudly.

Daxter let out a sharp shushing noise, jumping. Scared as a kitten, the poor kid. He looked around wildly, realized everyone was staring at him, then straightened. He kicked the metal door. "Stupid door."

Jak laughed and walked in. I sighed, looking at the sky and wondering why I said yes to coming here. Nothing good was going to come out of this little trip. Daxter trailed after Jak without any prompting. I looked at Amanda, who shrugged.

There was no rooftop over the large colosseum-sized arena. Just an overhang from a lurker ship, whirring and buzzing in the background. Jak seemed to have spotted something of interest, and was currently headed toward a set of rickety, sloppily put together stairs. "What are we doin' here anyway, Jak?" Daxter asked, hurrying to keep up with the blond.

I noticed the thing in his path a second too late. Daxter's foot hit the artifact, and he toppled easily with a cry and a thud. Jak looked around in alarm, but when he saw Daxter on the floor, all he did was snicker.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked. The redhead nodded, looking down at the . . . thing. I didn't know what to call it. It was made from Precursor metal, like most of everything else around this place. It was copper colored, but hadn't tarnished in the possibly thousands of years it'd been around for.

"Yeah, yeah," Daxter waved her off, getting up and grabbing it. "Stupid Precursor junk."

He carried it up the stairs after Jak, me and Amanda not far behind. She seemed content for the moment to just sit back and watch everything. Whenever she was quiet for too long she was either thinking, or listening to her iPod. But since iPods didn't exist right then, she had to have been thinking.

The Dark Eco pool was about ten feet in diameter, maybe more. It went down about two feet, until the bubbling liquidy-shapes took over. It didn't really look like liquid, though. It seemed more like a shifting, cloudy hole into nothingness, reflecting the nonexistent lights with dark blues and bursting purples. Dangerous as that shit was . . . it was actually a pretty color.

"Yech!" Daxter called suddenly, louder than necessary when he appeared next to me. "What is that dark oooze? It sure duddn't look friendly."

Amanda sneered down at the crap, and shuffled backwards a little. "Gives me the creeps, if you asked me. Who cares what it is?"

Daxter glanced at Jak, then down at the thingy he was still holding. He smirked slightly, then tried to blow dust and dirt of the thingy all slick and smooth-like. "The Sage always yapps on about the Precursors who built this place all the time." He made a funny face and started to talk in a deeper voice. "'Where did they go?' 'Why did they build this crap?'" He laid his hand dramatically to his head, then tossed the thingy to Jak over his shoulder. Startled, the blond reached out to catch it before it hit the ground. Amanda giggled at his surprise, getting a glare in return. "Now, I like Precursor Orbs and power cells as much as the next guy . . . " Daxter continued, as Jak peered a little closer at the thingy.

He brushed off another speck of dirt, and I leaned closer. Wasn't it supposed to . . .

The whole thing lit up red like there were LEDs hidden inside. Both me and Jak jumped a little bit, looking at each other. Did you see that? Did that just happen? Yeah! Yeah!

" . . . but if you ask me," Daxter trumbled on, even though we weren't listening anymore. "They musta been real losers . . . Woa-hoh!" He cried, running back to us. "How did you do that?"

"Uhh," Jak started, and I felt my eyes widen. Was he actually about to talk?

Amanda let out a scream and tumbled backwards, just in time to avoid getting herself crushed. A bone lurker had dropped down from the ledge above. It's eyes narrowed into slits as it took us four teenagers in. Maia's voice rang in my ears. _**Deal harshly with stay villagers**_. Guess what we were?

"J-Jak," Daxter stuttered as he hid behind the blond. "I think we're in _trouble!_"

The Bone Lurker let out a snarl and a roar, waving it's club back and forth. It charged, bringing the club down with enough force to dent the metal floor. I shoved Amanda out of the way, splitting our group down the middle. "Let's _get out of here!_" I shouted, as the lurker snarled and raised it's club again. It ran on three legs until it got enough momentum, and raced forward on two. It raised the club again with full intention to smash open our skulls. "Shit!" I yelped, rolling out of the way and pushing Amanda in the back to keep her going. "Shit shit shit shitshitshit_shit_-!"

Jak grabbed my upper arm when I ran past him and shoved me out of the way, then pushed Amanda in the same direction. He left Daxter behind as he ran forward suddenly, chucking the thingy at the lurker as hard as he could. "Jak!" Amanda yelled when the monster exploded into a cloud of dark eco, knocking Jak backwards from the shock wave. Jak tumbled into Daxter, who lost his balance and let out a scream when he fell over the edge and into the dark eco pool.

"DAXTER!" Amanda and I shouted in unison, scrambling to the edge of the pool and looking down. Jak joined us in seconds, looking around for his friend frantically.

"Where is he?" Amanda squeaked.

"I don't know!"

The ooze gurgled. It shifted and let out a burst of blue gas. Purple sparked over the spot, until a wet popping sound produced a bright orange blur, shooting past the three of us and across the floor behind. We spun around, staring at it as it slid to a stop. There was silence, and Jak crawled forward a few feet.

The orange thing lurched upright. "_Man_ that stung!" Daxter shouted, his voice making Jak jump backwards just a bit. The orange fuzzy animal was about two feet tall, with four paws and a long tail. Ears almost rabbit-like but a lot shorter. The orange fur lightened to yellow on his underside and around his face. He spotted the three for us sitting there in stunned silence, and stood up, stalking on hind legs toward us. "I told you we shouldn't have come here!" He snapped at Jak. The poor blond looked so confused, and Amanda was one step behind him. "And you listened, you heard me quite well, didn't you?"

The otter-shaped, weasel thing, ottsel, the game called him, scowled when he noticed the stares he was getting. "_What?_"

All three of us raised an eyebrow, let our jaws hang, and tilted our heads to the side.

Daxter looked around at our faces, and slowly, his eyes widened. He snapped his gaze to his hand. His paw. He twitched. Turned to us.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!_"

I lifted my hands off my ears, wincing. Damn, he could be loud.

Daxter lifted himself off the floor, arms spread out to keep his balance. "Okay, okay . . . I'm fine, I'm fine . . . " He bowed his head, stared at his lower body for a seconds. His tail twitched.

The orange ottsel vaulted onto Jak's chest, gripping his collar tightly.

"__AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH_!_"

* * *

><p>The ride back to Sandover was . . . interesting.<p>

Daxter spent the ride next to Amanda, curled into a ball, and hyperventilating. The sun inched its way up on the way back, and by the time we made it to the fisherman's dock, it was fully sunny. Jak helped Daxter out of the boat, and every few seconds he would turn, and look down. He'd just stare. And I couldn't blame him. If Amanda was turned fuzzy and orange, I'd stare at her too.

Samos was floating in his lab when we got there. I stuck my head around the corner, glancing back at Jak and Amanda sheepishly. "Who wants to go first?" I whispered.

Samos whirled around, a look of annoyed anger clear as day on his face. "Where have you two been?" He howled. I jumped back a little bit when I realized he was shouting at _me,_ instead of Jak who was creeping behind me. "Keira woke up this morning and nearly went out of her head looking for you!"

"I-I, um," I stuttered. Samos was yelling at me? What was wrong with this picture? "W-we, uh,"

Jak put his hand on my shoulder and walked around me into the little lab, holding up his hand to block the green sage's verbal barrage. Samos sat back in the air and raised an eyebrow. Jak shook his head when he pointed at me and Amanda, then nodded when he pointed at himself. _Not them,_ he was saying. _Me. Us._

Samos huffed. "Why am I not surprised? Dragging Amanda and Ashleigh into your little clumsy antics now, are you?" His eyes, magnified by his glasses of odd sizes, narrowed. " . . . and now you've come back after such antics, wanting my help after a good dose of self-inflicted stupidity, don't you?"

Jak scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Then he stepped back and gestured to the floor. Samos glared in that direction, and to his credit, didn't bat an eye when he finally noticed Daxter hiding behind Amanda's pants. The old Sage's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't tell me," He growled.

"I-I was-" Daxter yelped. "We was- just wanted ta'-!"

"You two went mucking around on the _one place_ I've told you countless times _not _to go, didn't you?" Samos's anger went through the roof. His face turned a little brown, and for a second I wondered if that was healthy. But then I remembered that if you added red to green, it'd turn a brownish shade. So, heh, yeah. Red with anger. Hooo-kaay. "Misty Island, wasn't it?"

"Th-that's right!" Daxter cried. "A-and then-!"

"_And,_ Daxter," Samos's voice was scathing. "You _finally _took a much-needed bath. But in a bathtub filled, with Dark Eco."

Finally it looked like Daxter had had it. "Look old man!" He shouted. "Are you gonna keep yapping, or are you gonna get me out of me out of this?" He waved at his two-foot tall, furry body. I took this moment to randomly realize that his goggles and gloves had survived the so called 'bath', but none of his clothes. Hm. I wonder why?

"I'm gonna keep yapping!" Samos snapped me back. "Because, in my professional opinion, the change is an improvement."

Daxter glowered and Amanda snickered. "Harsh,"

He glared over his shoulder at her, a snarl curling his lip. "Besides," Samos tapped his lower lip and stroked his beard. "I couldn't help you if I wanted to."

"_WHHHAAAAAAT?_"

"Daxter," Amanda snapped. "Stop yelling."

"I'd like to see how _you_'d be reacting if _your _ass turned fuzzy!" He whirled around, one, eh, finger jabbed at her threateningly. Samos whacked the poor ottsel with his wooden staff. "OW!"

"Focus that brain of yours for once, would you?" Samos demanded. "Although, I'm not sure how well you'd be able to do that, now that your brain is approximately the size of a banapple."

Amanda and I took this moment to share a look. 'Banapple?' she mouthed, looking deeply confused. I shrugged. 'I have no idea,' I mouthed back. The game never actually went into details about food or animals . . . at least, I didn't think so. Why would a fighting game worry about food and animals?

"Anyway, there is only one man with any chance at returning you to your previous form." Samos ignored the confusion between me and Amanda, trolling right on ahead as he jumped back into the air. "Gol Acheron, the Sage. He's been studying Dark Eco for about as long as I've been researching Green Eco."

"Well, okay," Daxter crossed his arms. "We'll just find this Gol guy and get him to change me back!"

I closed my eyes to take a deep breath as a wave of slight nausea drifted up my throat and down again. I tucked messy, frizzy hair back behind my ear, hooking my bangs out of my eyes. I listened quietly as Samos went on about how Gol lived up north somewhere, no one had heard of him for years, the teleporter gates were out of the question, and how going through the Fire Canyon would most likely result in foot burns so bad you wouldn't be able to walk again. Blah blah blah. My six-year-old self had restarted the game countless times, I've heard this speech over and over again.

I tuned out when Keira came up, looking smug about her zoomer's potential heat-shield, and relieved that Amanda and I were okay. She walked close to Jak while talking about the power cells around, hidden, waiting for a 'brave adventurer to find,' and I frowned. Jak blushed slightly and grinned back at Keira. As annoyed as this made me, for some reason, I put on a smirk and raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms when the blond glanced at me. His face turned brighter, and I had to laugh at him. Sure, I'd had a little crush on the guy, but now that he was really in front of me, and I wasn't six, I could rationalize myself and push that feeling away. It wasn't real. Just a little girl crush on a fictional guy.

I wasn't six. And Jak, apparently, wasn't fictional. So holding onto that feeling would just be wrong.

" . . . won't find any more of that dark gooey eco-y stuff, will we?" Daxter asked when I came out of my head. "'Cause I'd hate to fall in again and turn into _you._"

Amanda chuckled. "Ouch."

Samos rolled his eyes with a growl. "Get _in_ there! Before I turn you all into _ferns!_"

Jak and Daxter shared a look, then a glance at me and Amanda. Jak waved at us then took a running leap into the blue swirling ring of the warp gate. Daxter blinked, looked behind him to look at his tail with an annoyed glare, then raised a smirk to us girls. He jumped in after Jak.

I hummed a few seconds after they were gone. "That wave," I mused. "It was either a 'Stay here,' or a 'Come on!'"

" . . . I'm going for a 'Stay here,'" Amanda guessed.

"Subtle," I snorted.

"Do whatever you want," Samos rolled his eyes, and Keira giggled. "Just don't go back to that Island."

"Trust me," Amanda made a big 'X' with her arms. "I have no desire to go there again. God forbid we find more of that stuff and I turn into Daxter."

I snorted another laugh, eyes still on the rift gate. Amanda followed my gaze. "No." She said firmly.

I took a step. It was another stupid idea. Something that would most likely come back to bite me in the ass later.

"Ashleigh, no."

I smirked. I didn't care if it was stupid. Insane.

"Don't you dare."

I took a running start.

"Nononononono-!"

I didn't know if it was courage or crazy. Whatever the feeling was, the state of mind, I dove straight into the teleporter with a big maniacal grin on my face.

* * *

><p><strong>All this craziness isn't gonna be good for her non-existent mental state . . . Review!<strong>


	5. 4: Dizzy and Dreaming

**I know it's been a while, so, hopefully this long chapter will make**** all my readers not hate me too much? Please?**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Dizzy and Dreaming<em>**

* * *

><p>I stared up at the big, blue blob.<p>

Just about every part of my body felt like it was on a sugar rush. I could have been vibrating in place for all I knew. What the fuck had happened anyway? I was on my back again, and for some reason I felt like this was going to become a very bad habit. Oh well. I was used to falling anyway.

"Ash, baby, you okay?"

I blinked blearily as a weasel-shaped head appeared over my face. Discolored by the back-lighting, I couldn't quite see him but Daxter was probably the easiest person to recognize. Ever. After a few short seconds I could focus on his face. He looked concerned. Highly amused, but concerned. I groaned, so not feeling like getting up yet. "Peachy."

I gave myself another few moments to just lay there and breathe. Once the zippy feeling in my skin faded, I forced myself to at least sit upright. Jak offered a hand to help me up, but I declined in favor of letting my mushed brain solidify. Liquid brains really did not feel good. At all. "Stupid warpgate," I growled, rubbing my forehead. "Ow." I closed my eyes to protect against an impending headache.

"First time teleportin', eh, toots?" Daxter asked.

I gave him a deadpan glare. "What gave you that idea?" I asked dryly.

Daxter scratched the back of his neck. "Eh heh, well, eh," I closed my eyes again. "Just give yourself a second. It goes away soon."

I stretched my neck and arms. "You couldn't have warned me?" I asked, trying to stand. Jak held out his hand again and this time I took it.

"We didn't know you were right behind us," Daxter huffed, trying to defend his man-pride. "Of course, if we'd _known_," I held up a hand to tell him to save it. I didn't need an ottsel flirting with me. My head hurt too much to put up with him. Jak let me go and took a hesitant step away, watching closely. When he deemed me steady enough, his shoulders relaxed. I smiled. I wasn't blushing, right? I really hope not. That would be bad.

I shook my head and turned away, just in case. "I- I'm good," I grinned triumphantly. "I think I'm good."

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

The warpgate sparked and crackled behind me, spitting out something large and heavy that hit me right in the back. Then I was eating dirt. Again.

Jak and Daxter stood there staring.

Then they doubled over and started laughing their asses off. I glared at them, blowing my loose bangs out of my eyes. "Ha ha, ha ha ha," I mocked as the deadweight on my spine shifted slightly. "You guys gonna stand around an' laugh all day or are you gonna give me a hand here?"

Jak coughed into his fist to cover his snickers, but Daxter just let himself fall over to literally start LOLing. Shoulders still shaking, Jak stepped over Daxter as he rolled back and forth to help lift the motionless body off my back.

I sat up and stretched when I could, turning over as Jak gently lent Amanda against the side post of the warp gate. He patted her cheeks a couple times to wake her up. For lack of a better term, she looked pretty much stoned. Her face had this big loopy grin and she kept giggling at a high pitch. " . . . that was funny," She announced while I cracked my back. I gave her a deadpan look. This was worse than whenever she doped herself up on pain medication.

"F-first t-time is always t-the worst," Daxter snickered, finally getting up to wipe a couple tears of mirth from his eyes. I was tempted to slap him upside the head, but decided at the last second it wasn't worth it. After another few seconds Amanda shook her head and blinked a few times.

" . . . what happened?" She asked, dopey expression turning woozy. Jak patted her shoulder and stood.

I pointed at the warp gate. "Apparently, you decided to follow me through the swirling vortex of blue weirdness." I explained. "And now you feel better than you do when your on meds."

She glared at me. "Right now I just have a headache." She grumbled, using Jak for support to stand, then brushing off her pants.

"Join the club." I remarked.

"Tech. What a club." Amanda replied with annoyance. Ah, the bitch game. It was one of our favorite ways to pass time. One of use would start off in a bad mood, set the other into a bad mood, and then we'd bitch back and forth at each other. Sometimes the game was short, other times the game went on for days. It's nice to know someone so well that you can insult them and they'll just insult you back and nobody cares.

"Don't worry babes," Daxter said with amusement. "The headache'll be gone in a bit."

We both sent him death glares.

"_Ahem, hello? You guys there?_"

I looked up and around in alarm, letting out a little squeak at the voice suddenly coming from Jak's direction. "Who's there?" I demanded at Jak. He stared at me with a slightly raised eyebrow, then reached around to pull something from the little backpack over his shoulder. It was a little green radio, with two orange antennas and a little propeller.

"_Hey guys!_" It greeted.

I pointed at it in shock. "Oh em eff gee it talks!"

Laughter came out of the little radio. I stared as it started it's propeller and lifted out of Jak's hand, hovering in the air. I knew that laugh, I realized. I also realized, through my still fuzzy brain, that I knew what was happening. Dumbass, I chided myself. Still, to prevent suspicion, I played along. "K-Keira?"

"_Yep!_" The mechanic said cheerfully. "_I built this little baby a few weeks back to try and help my father keep in touch with the other Sages. Or, you know, to contact someone if they're gone for too long._" There was a pointed edge in her voice, and when I glanced at Jak his face was red sheepishly. I laughed at him and ignored his glare. "_But since we're separated, I decided to use this to keep in touch!_"

"Whaddya know?" Amanda whispered to me. "She built the first cell phone."

I snickered, waving her off. Daxter gave us a confused look. "That's pretty cool, Keira. What other gadgets and gizmos do you have laying around back at the house?"

"_Ah, you know. A little bit of this, and a little bit of that. But I'm devoting most of my resources to the 'zoomer for right now. But honestly, there's not much I can do without the power cells-_"

"Speaking of which!" Daxter scurried up Jak's leg and around his waist to settle on his right shoulder. "D'you think we could get a move on? I have an itch on my back and it feels _really_ weird to scratch it with my foot!"

There was a beat of silence before we all laughed at him. Even Keira started cracking up over the radio, along with Samos. When the giggles died down and Daxter didn't look like he was about to murder us, Amanda spoke to the radio. "You're here too, Samos?"

"_Yes, my dear,_" Came the grumbled voice of the old Sage. "_I'll be keeping an ear on you all to be sure you know what you're doing and _not _getting into trouble._"

I coughed. "Jak and Daxter." Cough cough.

"Don't make me come over there-!" Daxter shouted. I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you gonna do? You're two feet tall. And fuzzy. Fuzzy isn't very intimidating."

Daxter narrowed his eyes at me darkly. Amanda rolled her eyes and shoved me backwards as the ottsel turned away in a huff. "Aw, don't feel so bad, Dax." She said kindly, patting him on the head. He frowned. Did she really think that was helping, I asked myself rhetorically. "Orange is a good color for you. Honestly too, I think you look better like this. Cuter!"

He raised his eyes to her, wide. "Really?" He looked like she just gave him a bucket of melted chocolate.

Amanda nodded. "Really."

"Well," He sat on Jak's shoulder armor and hummed. "Maybe this won't be _so_ bad," He mused to himself. Jak raised an eyebrow at Amanda who just shrugged. He glanced at me but I shook my head. Amanda wasn't one to beat around the bush- if she said he looked cute, then dammit she thought he was cute. Queen of Fuzzies, I reminded myself. I chuckled under my breath with amusement.

Samos cleared his throat over the radio and the four of us jumped. "_If you're all quite done, I'm sure you'd like to get a move on in this training session, correct?_"

"You got it, Green Stuff!" Daxter called, despite being about ten inches from the radio. I could almost feel Samos wanting to curse him off, but all he responded with was a long frustrated sigh that got a snicker out of Amanda and me. "C'mon! Let's get going! I'm not gonna get this fuzz off my ass if we're just sitting here, are we? Look Jak! It's one'a those scarecrow-dummies you like so much!"

Jak grinned and rushed ahead to punch said scarecrow, easily breaking it in half.

"Look!" Daxter sounded like an over-excited six-year-old. "Precursor orbs!"

In the game, Precursor orbs just kind of hovered in the air in the middle of the path. Now, they were all scattered across the ground in a random mess. I picked one up and held it in my hand. It was little, the rough size of an egg but heavy as a rock twice that size. I followed behind Jak as he bent to scoop them up, handing them to Daxter to stuff them in the little bag strapped to Jak's back. The bag barely looked big enough to carry a glasses case (I scowled when I remembered I still didn't have my own) but they just kept filling it up with more and more and it didn't look like it would be full anytime soon. A logical part of my brain wanted to rationalize this, but another part just chalked the whole thing up as The Video Game laws of physics. It would hurt my head less to try and sort it out.

We came to a small chasm in the path, not even two feet deep but filled with dozens of sharp spikes. The obstical was easily avoidable. There were two platforms on either side of the spiky deathtrap, each with it's own little scarecrow guy. They were positioned into what I thought was supposed to be menacing poses, but since they were only made out of straw and baskets and old clothes, I found the effect rather adorable. Across the spikes however was a little glowing ball twisting around with pieces of itself. "A power cell!" I announced like the nerd I was.

"_That's right!_" Keira said happily. "_This is a power cell, the most important Precursor artifact you can find! Bring me twenty of these, and I'll be able to get the heat shield up and running on your AGrav-zoomer!_"

Jak jumped over the spikes easily. He even jumped twice in mid-air, something very not real-lifey. He grabbed the power cell out of the air while Daxter started breakdancing across the grass. Amanda and I stared at him while Jak laughed. He turned to us then pointed at the two scarecrows. I nodded. It was weird how easily I understood his silent messages, but eh, not much else made sense in this place. Might as well destroy some stuff while I was here.

"What's he want us to do?" Amanda asked.

"Just get rid of the scarecrows," I translated as the boys went ahead and started busting open scout-fly boxes. I could hear Keira faintly, but what she was saying wasn't too plot-relevant. We could do without it. I turned to the left and jumped up. "I'll get this one."

"Alright," Amanda nodded and went over to the other.

I stepped up to the scarecrow and stared at it as it loomed over my head. I tried to imagine that the straw sticking out at random places was lurker fur. That the flexed fingers in the orange gloves were black claws aiming to kill me. I stared a few more seconds. Nope. Wasn't working. Oh well, I thought, stepping back to get into a fighting position. Might as well put the miserable thing out of it's misery.

I aimed a perfect kick into the big purple painted target on the scarecrow's chest. I planned it out perfectly in my head. I would raise my leg and plant my heel right in the bulls eye. The basket would crumple and the whole thing would fall apart. But putting my images into action . . . didn't work out as well as I'd hoped it would. I did raise my leg and I did hit the scarecrow, just not in the right spot and not with the right reaction. The mess of straw shook for a second from the impact, but otherwise stayed intact. I, on the other hand, lost my balance and had to stumble to not fall over completely. "Wha-?" This wasn't right! I scowled and raised my fists. A punch, then! I punch would do!

I smacked my fist into the scarecrow, and this time, it's stick of a spine finally broke. I smirked with victory. Hah! Suck on that, bitch.

. . . wow. I really was a nerd. I was getting excited over breaking a scarecrow. Epic fail.

I rejoined Amanda and we went to go catch up with the boys. I noticed her looking at me and turned. "What?"

"I was just wondering," She began.

"Yeah?"

"Uh," She glanced away and back. "How can you . . . how are you able to see without your glasses?"

"Oh," I blinked. "Well, my vision isn't _that_ bad, I've just got astigmatism or something in my right eye." I pointed at it for emphasis. "I'm farsighted- . . . or is it nearsighted? Whichever it is, I can see close up only to a certain point and after that, well, it's just messy colors."

Amanda nodded in understanding. "So even though you lost your glasses, you can still function?"

"Basically, yes." I nodded back, just in time to hit a forgotten precursor orb with my foot and end up flat on my face. "ACK!"

"So, by basically, you mean barely." Amanda remarked with a string of snickers. I sat up and rubbed grass and dirt out of my face, sending her dark layered look. Once her laughter died down she extended a hand to help me up.

"Knee deep in denial, yes," I deadpanned, brushing off a small scrape on my elbow.

Jak and Daxter came back over. "Yo, what happened?" Daxter called, pocketing the precursor orb I'd tripped over.

"Ashleigh fell." Amanda explained, picking a blade of grass from my hair.

"Again?" Daxter blinked. "That's, what? The third time you've fallen?"

"Oh, please, you fell too!" I snapped, remembering the whole action that got us into this mess.

"Sure, but my one to your three," The ottsel replied with a snicker. I crossed my arms.

"It's not funny." I snapped. "I fall all the time- there's nothing funny about it!" I felt my irritation growing as Amanda and Daxter continued to chuckle at my expence. I locked eyes with Jak, who wasn't really showing any emotion. "See!" I cried, startling him. "Jak doesn't think it's funny! Right?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. His laughter only seemed to egg Amanda and Daxter on, and soon I was standing in the middle of everyone just laughing at me. I scowled and narrowed my eyes. I wanted to be annoyed at them, but unfortunately the mood was infectious. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't resist a couple giggles myself.

"_All right, all right,_" Samos grumbled. "_Enough of this. I believe there are still at least three more power cells littered around Geyser Rock. I'd _advise_ that you four try to find them._"

We looked around at each other with nervous smiles. Translation: Stop fucking around and get a move on, idiots. Well, better not let old green stuff get his panties in a twist. "C'mon guys," I said, walking ahead. "Lets find the power cells before Samos blows a gasket, kay?"

"You got it!" Daxter crowed, leaping off of Jak's shoulder to do a short disco move on the ground. "The faster we get those babies the faster I get un-fuzzified!"

"Fuzzified?" Amanda repeated as we followed Jak around breaking scout fly boxes. "Is that even a word?"

"It is now! Ha-ha!"

He reclaimed his place on Jak's shoulder, holding on tight while Jak did his super man punch into the box. He collected the scout fly and Daxter stuffed it into his hyperspace backpack. "Doesn't that hurt?" I asked when he'd broken the fifth box.

He shrugged the shoulder Daxter wasn't sitting on and shook his head. I was tempted to try it, but just watching him do that move made by hand hurt. I turned to Amanda, remembering her background with martial arts. "Can you do that?"

"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow. "That? If I wanted to, sure, but it'd probably break my wrist."

"Hm."

We followed the boys around for another few minutes, just watching as Jak broke boxes and picked up scout flies and little balls of green eco. I stared at one of the little green things as it floated in the air, drifting lightly in the sea breeze. I reached out and poked it. Instantly the ball exploded into a cloud of green powder, shooting into my skin. It ran up my arm and I squeaked. The red scrape on my elbow tingled for a moment, before the sting suddenly vanished. "Woah," I blinked, and a small smile grew over my face. "Cool!"

"_Green eco is the energy of life,_" I turned to find the radio to be hovering over my shoulder. "_In my research, I've come to the hypothesis that green eco is produced within the plants around us all, growing and released, allowing us humans to borrow that energy. Green eco is within us all, giving us our breath, and our ideas. Green eco allows us to think, to feel, to understand._"

I smiled softly. "That's pretty cool, Samos," I brushed the skin where the scrape used to be, but there wasn't a single mark left. I never really thought about how the green eco affected people in real life. (Not that this was real life, of course.) But now that I actually felt what the green eco felt like. It was just a small rush, a shiver going all the way down to my bones. "Pretty cool."

"_Thank you,_" Samos sounded surprised. "_It's refreshing to be appreciated. For once._"

I laughed out loud, trailing after everyone else down to the shore for more precursor orbs. Jak broke a wooden chest and collected the green eco. Then I noticed he was almost pointedly avoiding the cloud of blue eco and the several precursor orbs laying in the sand. I jolted with a squeak when Daxter suddenly pounced off of Jak and onto me. "Hey toots! What took you so long?"

"I-"

"_That's blue eco,_" Samos interrupted, the little radio flew away from me and toward Jak, who was standing in front of the sparking azure mist. He bounced on his toes a couple times with faint excitement. "_It contains the energy of motion. It allows you to run faster, break boxes, and even activate certain Precursor artifacts if you get near them._"

Jak smirked his scheming smile. I raised an eyebrow as Daxter leaned his elbows onto the top of my head. "Watch this," He said with a toothy grin.

Jak took a deep breath then sprang forward. He ran straight into the eco and it burst around his body. Blue electricity sparked across his skin, lighting up his bronze skin. He shot across the sand and ran circles around me Daxter and Amanda. All the precursor orbs started giving off the same blue glow, and they each lifted out of the sand to swirl around him in a tornado of copper. Jak grabbed each one and stuffed them into his bag in rapid motions. The blue eco didn't last very long, and when it ran out he skid to a stop in front of me and Daxter, kicking up a wave of sand in his wake.

Jak smiled when he saw I was looking at him. When his lips curved upward, I felt my stomach twist oddly. I swallowed the feeling and grinned back.

"That was amazing!" Amanda shouted as she sided up to us. Jak beamed, like this was the reaction he was pointedly going for. "How'd you do that?" Jak waved her forward and pointed at the neon cloud, right back where it was a few seconds ago. Amanda started toward it, but held back a second later. "It's not . . . gonna hurt, right?"

Jak shook his head like: _Oh of course not!_ He gestured toward the blue eco. Amanda's eyes lit up, and she looked back at me like an eight year old about to get a free-for-all pass to a candy store. I laughed.

"Go, go!" I waved her on. I crossed my arms and followed behind as she walked into the cloud. Like with Jak, it burst around her and a huge smile stretched across her face. She let out a loud cheer and raced up the cliff back off the beach. "Welp, " I said with amusement to the ottsel still claiming residence on the top of my head. "We've just created a monster."

"Looks like fun, doesn't it!" Daxter asked, leanng down to look me in the eyes. I couldn't resist smiling back. Amanda was right, Daxter _was_ adorable. And the blue eco _did_ look like fun.

"I'll admit it," I chuckled, climbing back up to the cliff a little slower than Amanda did. Jak was already halfway up, and I hoped he was making sure she wasn't running into walls. "I'm tempted."

We made it to the top and found Jak standing there, arms crossed and laughing. "What's got you in a good mood?" Daxter asked, finally leaving my head in favor of Jak's shoulder. The blond shook his head and pointed around the corner. We looked, just in time for Amanda to come racing by. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, talking too fast for any of us to understand her. She spun in a circle so fast she was a blur of colors and a bright blue glow. Daxter whistled lowly. "Oh. That. Yeah, makes sense."

"ASHLEIGH!" Amanda squealed, appearing in front of me in the blink of an eye. "Oh my god you have got try this it's so so so so sosososososooooo cool! It's like being sugar high! Like being on a normal high! So much fun! So fast! So speedy! So so so so so so sososososoooooooo amazing!"

She squealed again and raced off.

I blinked. Then I blinked again. "Uhh . . . " I looked at the boys. "What just happened?"

Daxter grinned. "Amanda has finally understood the great wonder of eco."

"Apparently." I shook my head. "Come on, let's go make sure she's not breaking anything important."

Jak and Daxter led me up and over some more ledges. Around a narrow ledge and a corner, we found Amanda laying in the grass laughing like a maniac. I pushed around Jak and ran toward her. "Are you okay?" I asked, hands on my knees.

She calmed her laughter to small giggles and looked up at me. She nodded, holding out a hand to be helped up. "Ohmygod, Ashleigh," She giggled. "You've gotta try this stuff, it's so amazing. It's like fucking speed!" She fell over again and burst into laughter all over again. I scratched the back of my neck. Well, she was beyond help.

"Fwhooo," Daxter whistled. "She sure knows how to have a good time."

I rubbed my forehead. "You have no idea."

Eventually we managed to pry Amanda off the ground. She followed behind Jak and I as we continued up the cliff, giggling to herself crazily before finally calming down. We came to another large, Precursor door not unlike the one Gol and Maia stood in front of when they were giving the lurkers their orders. Maia, with her cruel smile and narrowed, red eyes, piercing through even the strongest of mental barriers. Lips like a snake as she coiled, fingers like claws as they danced over my bare collar bone. _**My sweet girl . . . **_She giggled.

"Ash?"

I miss-stepped and almost tripped on a rock. "Wha- . . . huh?" I looked around. Either Samos and Keira had taken over the mike for the radio and was talking to Jak about the Precursor door and the blue eco vent on the edge of the cliff. I shook my head, ponytail flopping against the sides of my head. Amanda was giving me an odd look. "What'd you say?"

She raised an eyebrow and her thin lips pulled downward. "Are you okay?" She asked. "You spaced out for a second."

"Oh, um," I felt my face heating up as I struggled to think of something. "I-I was just thinking . . . and I've been up since before dawn so I think I'm a little tired too." I closed my eyes and put on a smile, the picture of innocence. It wasn't a _total_ lie. I had been thinking, and neither of us got much sleep last night. Most things I did share with Amanda, but this . . . I didn't know _where_ the fuck _that_ had come from.

"Alright," Amanda said in that way of hers that let you know right away she didn't believe you for a second. She stared at me for a few more seconds before shrugging one shoulder. I watched her take three steps away before she was right back in my face with a finger one inch from my nose. "But this is not over."

"I told you," I laughed. "I just need some sleep."

"Hm." Was all she responded with before stalking off after the boys. I watched her back go, and after she was out of earshot I sighed and rubbed my head again. That whole experience was . . . ugh. Where did that even come from? Her voice kept echoing in my head. My sweet girl. What did _that_ mean?

I forced the event from my head. I was just tired . . . plus, I'd never been one to lack in an over-active imagination. It wasn't anything to worry about, I was sure. So, I ran to catch up with Amanda and Jak and Daxter over at the cliff with the blue eco vent, pretending nothing had happened. "Whas' going on now?" I asked.

"Old green stuff says that the only way to open that door," Daxter pointed over my shoulder to the Precursor door. "Is if we charge up on this blue eco-y stuff and go near it."

"Okay," I said, nodding at his abridged version of Samos's lecture about how certain eco can do certain things and blah blah blah. "You gonna do it, Jak?"

He shrugged, looking pointedly at Amanda, who was bouncing on her toes like she'd just drank twenty cups of coffee. Here's a hint, that coffee wasn't decaf. Her grin was big and green eyes merry with excitement. I shook my head at her. Although, I'd be lying if I said the blue eco wasn't tempting . . . with it's sparking blue mistiness . . .

I tilted my head to the side and stared at it. A few seconds went by. Jak nudged me in the arm. I jumped, looking up at him with wide eyes. He gestured to the blue eco vent, then at me. _You wanna . . . ?_

I scratched my head. I did want to try it . . . really bad. Really, really bad. But I didn't think it was good idea at the moment, so I shook my head.

Then I promptly dove headfirst into the blue energy. This stupidity thing was starting to concern me . . . but not right then.

Right then, I felt like I had taken twenty shots of straight caffine. Like lightning racing through my whole body, every molecule in my body was vibrating fifty times the normal rate. It was a rush. A violent surge that ran up from my bare feet to the ends of my hair the second I felt the warm Precursor metal under my toes. Then I was moving, and I felt like air. I rushed past Jak and Amanda and Daxter with a loud "WHOO-HOO!"

I twisted my body to the grass and I did a cartwheel. I've never done a cartwheel- I didn't know I could even _do_ cartwheels!

I summersaulted and spun and twisted, laughing and yelling and cheering. This was better than a sugar high- Amanda was right. Better than a normal high. So so . . . high. Zappy That was the word! Zappy!

Colors ran past at a blurry rate and I backflipped toward an undestroyed scarecrow. I smashed through the brittle straw with my bare hands. Oh my god, this was fun! I never wanted this to end- DOOR! Oh! Yeah! I had to open the door!

I spun on my toes in dirt and summersaulted back to the door. The blue lightning bolt at the top light up as the eco regestured, and the bronze colored metal spun open. POWER CELL! OH EM EFF GEE!

I tackled the power cell and held it up triamphently. At the same time, the blue eco ran out and I felt my body crashing. I kept my hold on the power cell as I fell over, landing in a fit of giggles. Amanda and the boys ran up not too long later. Daxter was laughing hysterically, Jak looked like he'd be laughing too if he could make sounds. Amanda looked a little concerned. "Are you okay, Ashleigh?" She asked.

I had to giggle a couple times before I could answer. I held the power cell out to Jak and Daxter, who did their dance, then helped me up. I wobbled, but didn't fall over. " . . . that was fun," I announced finally.

"No kidding," Amanda frowned. She glanced at the boys. "Did I look that bad?"

Jak nodded. "Yes." Daxter responded without a pause.

I laughed at her mockingly.

"_Well, then,_" Samos said over the radio. "_Now that you've opened the door and collected the power cell, I suggest getting a move on. The day is growing old as we speak, and the longer you all spend being goof offs the longer Daxter remains two feet tall._"

Daxter's eyes went comically wide. "Come on, losers!" He shouted, grabbing Jak's hair hard enought to make him grunt with pain. "My butt's not going be un-fuzzied if I keep sitting on it!"

"You could shave it," Amanda deadpanned. He glared at her and she gave him a toothy grin.

"Or get off Jak's shoulder and do something for yourself," I suggested. Jak made a thoughtful face then looked pointedly at our ottsel. Daxter held up his hands.

"Hey hey hey, I'm the plan guy here! You're all the feild guys!" He cried, looking like he'd been just insulted. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, looking back over my shoulder.

"Alright, well, now that I'm not jittry anymore," I walked to the edge and looked at all the Precursor orbs on the bolas in the water below. I stared at them, slowly feeling a frown tug my face downwards. "We should get moving." I looked over my shoulder. "Who wants to get wet?"

Jak ran by before I could even finish, leaping into the water with a splash. I held up my hands with a squeak. Amanda was scowling. "Great," She muttered dryly. "My hair hasn't frizzed enough today. Let's get wet and make it worse!"

I snickered despite myself. " . . . get wet . . . "

She smacked me in the back of the head.

* * *

><p>Dozens of Precursor orbs and four power cells later, we were back in Samos's hut while the sun went down over the ocean. Keira congradulated us upon return, taking the power cells to her workshop. Samos greeted Amanda and I with a smile, but a huff at Jak and Daxter. He handed the four of us metal bowls of leafy salads and small half-loaves of bread after a small talk of how the training went, and went back to his work. Right now, we were just chilling out on the wooden ramp that circled Samos's hut, laughing and telling stories and, well, just being teenagers.<p>

"Okay okay," Daxter set down his bread and held up his hands, trying to calm Amanda and my laughter. He'd just gotten through telling us about this one time when the boys and Keira were younger and they'd almost set fire to Samos's lab. Amanda and I were in stitches by the time he finished up the earful Samos had given them all that day. "So, this other time, _Jak_ decided it would be smart to go up some of the ruins on Sentinel Beach . . . "

Jak caught my attention and rolled his eyes in amusement and exasperation. Of course, it was _all_ Jak's idea.

" . . . made us climb up all the way up to the top of the ruins . . . "

I shared a smirk with Jak, who rolled his wild sapphire eyes again. He shook his head once in a while at some particularly wild claim Daxter made about this story. He waved his hand and he snorted. He looked at me and he laughed.

" . . . and then the pigeons! Those goddamn pigeons! They decided it would be funny to . . . "

I chewed my dinner and laughed when Daxter shouted at the sky about pigeons. Amanda was holding her sides and laughing so hard she was squeaking when she tried to breathe. I put my food down and picked at my roll, unable to stop snickering. Daxter sure knew how to get people laughing. Maybe he wasn't doing it on purpose, but damn these stories were funny.

Jak leaned forward and grabbed Daxter, pulling him down from where he was sitting on the railing. He pointed at the ottsel, then circled the air around his ear with one finger. Daxter gasped, offended. "I am not crazy!"

Jak laughed richely and pushed the ottsel away, shaking his head. He leaned back on his hands and I jumped when one of his calllosed fingers brushed my own. I looked down and up, pulling away quickly. Jak scratched the back of his neck and grinned apologetically. I smiled back. Just an accident, I told myself, while trying not to get too caught up in the way his tanned skin crinkled around his merry blue eyes.

Storytime had to end eventually though, and Amanda and I bid the boys tired goodnights before going back to the storeroom that was serving as our bedroom for now. We were setting up the hammocks while Keira got us some clean blankets when Amanda bumped my shoulder with her own. "You like him," She pointed out with a smirky grin. I frowned.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, pulling my jeans off to be more comfortable in bed- er, hammock?

"Don't be difficult," Amanda rolled her eyes. "I can see it plain as day. You're blushing like a cherry!"

I covered my face with a slap. "No I'm not!" She laughed at me and I glared at her. "I'm not!"

"Whatever," She grinned as Keira came in to give us the new blankets. We took them and the three of us shared goodnights. I laid in my hammock and swung, trying to beckon myself to sleep. Hopefully, she'd let it go.

No such luck.

"You liiiiiiiiiiikeeeee hiiiiimmmmm!"

"GO TO BED!"

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	6. 5: Pain and a little bit of Downtime

**Well it's about time, huh? Sorry for waiting so long to update this. It's pretty long this time so will that count as a peace offering?**

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><p><strong><em>Pain and a little Downtime<em>**

_Fire within clenched fists. _

_Screams of pain echo within the sounds of cruel laughter. _

_She smiles. Her cold eyes of pure poison cut me to the core. _

_Eyes blurred by tears. Hot metal burns my skin._

_I scream. And I scream. And I scream._

_No one comes to the rescue._

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning brutally and painfully.<p>

The hardwood floor of my makeshift backroom bedroom rushed up to meet the back of my head as I went sprawling out of my hammock. The ceiling swam and my skull throbbed painfully. I rolled onto my side, groaning and holding the spot like that could make the burst of stars go away. You know how in cartoons people see the whirly-birds around their heads after getting head damage? Yeah. Not true. Not true at all.

I was still groaning and rolling on the floor by the time the door opened, and Keira stuck her head into the room with a look of concern in her eyes. My fingers left my skull and I stared up at her blankly. Dull concern morphed into shocked surprise, and she suddenly ducked out of the room without a word. I blinked. Well, okay then. 'Oh yeah, I'm fine, no worries!'

No sooner had the thoughts flitted past my mind that the blue and green haired girl returned, carrying with her a small rag and what looked like a little clay pot. She set them both on the floor beside me then knelt, gently helping me to sit up again. "Easy," The mechanic whispered. "Don't move so fast."

I nodded but that just made the room swirl again so I stopped quickly. Keira frowned then reached for the jar. She took off the top and I spotted the familiar green smoke of eco out the corner of my eye before she moved behind me. She asked me to hold up my hair and I did so. Her cold fingers touched the bare skin of my neck for a small moment, then the green eco was whisping down my shoulders and into my skin. I sighed in satisfaction, the pain gone instantly and with it went my sore sleepy body. I cracked my neck and stretched my arms, turning to give the mechanic a grin of gratitude.

However, when I faced her full on I realized she had the rag in her hand and was suddenly wiping it across my eyes and down my cheeks. The rag was damp and warm, refreshing on my clammy skin. Now that I thought about it, my eyes kind of ached too.

The green eco still coursing through my blood stream made quick work of that, however.

Whatever Keira was doing to my face though she finished quickly, folding the rag and replacing the lid on the jar. She stood up and held out her hand to help me do the same. "Feel better?" She asked. I nodded.

"Much, yes. Thanks."

Keira smiled softly and nodded. "Good. Hurry and get dressed, my father has some breakfast ready for you upstairs."

She left to give me privacy and I went to grab my pants. It was nice to have a moment alone for a few minutes. I loved Amanda and everyone here was quickly growing on me, but silence was a sweet escape even if just for the moment.

I grabbed for my jeans and pulled them on, scowling at the feel of the dirty denim on my legs. They'd have to be washed soon.

I touched the back of my neck where I hit the floor thoughtfully. So much happening so soon after I woke up locked the memories of my nightmare out of my thoughts, but I think that was more blessing than curse. I was shaking while just standing there, and Sandover wasn't exactly cold. It was like my last nightmare. I remembered the impression, but no details. Nothing but foggy mists of colors behind my eyelids.

Unthinkingly, I reached for my collarbone, where a necklace usually hung. For a moment it startled me that it wasn't there, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Much like with Amanda and her hair extensions and my glasses, my necklace wasn't something I could hold onto after being washed up on the beach. It was still odd though. So many things were still odd. How could a necklace usually tied in a tight knot around the back of my neck have just fallen off so easily? How could we have washed up on Sentinel Beach? Hell, how could all of this be happening in the first place?

I pinched my shoulder. Hard. "Ow," I muttered, scolding myself. Idiot.

This was a video game. A video game I was now _stuck in_, but a video game none the less. None of this should be possible. Eco. Precursors. The world, the village. The characters turned people. My god damn _ears_!

I grabbed the appendages and pulled them downward in a sharp yank. I wasn't expecting it to hurt though, so I yelped in pain and let go.

Okay. Yeah. Stupid. Very stupid. Mental note: _don't yank your own ears you idiot!_

I shook my head and frowned at how just plain _odd_ it felt to hear the wind rush past them, but I forced the thought away and turned for the door. The last thing I needed was Keira coming back and giving me a look like she thought I was actually trying to hurt myself on purpose. Which I wasn't. I was just clumsy.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob. What had Daxter said? His one to my three? It was four now, wasn't it? Ugh.

I pushed my thoughts away again and walked out of the room. Keira was kneeling beside the _A Grav__-Zoomer _with a blowtorch in one hand and the other holding down a welder's mask. I don't think she saw me, so I avoided saying hello to instead climb the ramps up to Samos's research room. Amanda was leaning against the railing when I got there, a bowl of various colored fruits in her hands. I eyed it. Nothing in there even looked remotely like anything I'd heard of, let alone eaten. I made a face.

"What _is_ all that?" I asked.

Amanda shrugged, popping a chunk of purple fruit into her mouth. "I have no idea. But these banapple things aren't half bad!"

I looked at the fruit again, then at her. "I'm not hungry."

She shrugged like 'suit yourself!' and went back to eating. Over my shoulder, I heard Samos call my name and come floating out onto the balcony. "Good morning, Ashleigh." He bowed his head to me and I nodded back. "I trust you slept well?"

I nodded. "Well enough," I lied through my teeth. Samos believed it though, because he nodded in acceptance and turned to look over the village while the sun climbed the sky above us.

"I'm glad. The boys have already gone out to see if any of the villagers have any Power Cells they could afford to miss." He informed me easily. "I was just in the middle of telling Amanda this when I figured she was in the mood for breakfast."

"Blame my stomach," She whined from behind me. I rolled my eyes in amusement.

Samos gave me a close look. "Are you hungry too, girl? You look a bit on the pale side."

"Hm?" I blinked, touching my cheek. "Oh, no, I'm good, really. I just took a nasty skydive out of my bed, that's all!" I added a laugh at the end of my sentence to try and play it off as nothing. "I'm never really hungry when I first wake up anyway. I'll just eat later."

"Alright then." Samos shrugged. "Last I heard from the boys they said they'd like to try and look across Sentinel Beach for Power Cells. Some villagers will trade Power Cells for Precursor Orbs as well." He lifted off the ground and started to float away, before he stopped in mid-air and came back quickly. "Oh yes, by the way. Will you two do me a favor while you're out? Find those idiots and tell them to make themselves useful. My darn green eco collectors on the far side of the beach have clogged up again. Head on over and clear them out, hm? Follow the lamps along the beach, they'll take you right there."

"Sure," Amanda and I answered in unison, and she handed him her bowl of fruit. He bid us good bye and we left, heading back down the wooden ramps and past the open room where Keira was still working. She saw us and waved, seeing us off with a cheerful warning to be safe and come back soon.

Despite the rude awakening, the sunshine on my skin had the strange effect of chasing off all my dull mood. I hummed while we walked into the village, and Amanda pulled something out of her waistband I hadn't noticed before. She saw my curious glance and held it up for me to see. It was little, and wooden, and curved, and it took me a second to realize it was a hairbrush. "Keira gave you that?"

Amanda nodded and started to go about the whole business of trying to brush out the tangle of her hair. "Yep! I was starting to think these things didn't even exist in this hell-hole." She winced when the brush yanked one of her knots. "You know, I think I was wrong about Keira." She mused. "She may have been kinda flat when we were playing the game, but she's not half bad now."

"This isn't hell." I said, thinking back to how Keira had given me the green eco that morning to heal what might have escalated into a concussion. She wiped my face free of . . . something, and I could remember seeing a faint trace of maternal care in her green eyes. It may have been a weird moment in retrospect, but the memory was more sweet than awkward if you asked me.

I looked up at the cliffs surrounding the village as a small group of children ran past us with the ball we'd seen Jak and Daxter playing with the other day. They ignored us entirely, minds set on nothing but their little game. Not the two strangers walking past them, not the lurkers that were taking over the beach, not even the fact that behind those high cliffs rested the lethal lava of Fire Canyon. I never really thought about it when playing the game, but one little avalanche could have very easily destroyed the whole village. When I used to play this game, it was irritatingly hard for my impatient six-year-old self to get all the way through the canyon. That was why I used to restart it all the time. Anything beyond Sentinel Beach and the Forbidden Jungle were beyond me.

What if we had to go through it before Samos found a way to get me and Amanda home?

I had no idea what was beyond that volcanic strip. Well, a vague idea, yes, thanks to the 'map' that came with the game in it's case, but names didn't give me much in the ways of knowing what was coming.

The beach, on the other hand, was my playground.

Jak and Daxter were standing on the edge of the village, almost literally. Jak seemed to be hovering at the very place where the grass and soil gave way into sand and water. They were having a pretty deep discussion about something- or, at least, Daxter was. Jak was just standing there looking annoyed at the little orange pest. He looked up when we got close and the beginnings of a smile quickly tipped the corners of his mouth. Daxter followed his gaze and sat up on Jak's shoulder plate.

"Hey lazybones!" He greeted us, waving. "We were wondering when you were gonna get up!"

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Don't judge me because I like to sleep." I complained.

Daxter shook his head and held up his hands, chuckling. "Hey hey, I didn't say I did. Honestly, I like you better lazy. Active people are deranged in the head."

Amanda and I shared a look then at the orange furry creature we were talking to. "And we aren't?" We chorused.

Daxter blinked and a flash of humor crossed Jak's eyes. "How do you do that?" Dax asked.

We shrugged. "No idea."

"Argh! Stop that!"

"Why?" This was funny and weird at the same time.

"That's just effin' _freaky!_"

Jak patted his friend on the head in a motion that was oddly patronizing, then waved us toward the beach as he started walking. He pointed toward a small ball of blue eco not too far away then looked back at us. _Anyone wanna-_

"I'll do it!" Amanda volunteered before I could finish mentally giving Jak dialogue. He made an 'after you' gesture that sent the girl forward with a mad cackle. She let the eco burst and envelope her, then a second later she was out of sight. I followed her until she vanished then gave the boys a deadpan look.

"And the monster returns." I remarked dryly.

Jak shrugged. _Oh well!_

I laughed. "We should probably go after her before she hurts herself . . . or something else," I suggested. Jak nodded in agreement and Daxter hunkered down on his shoulder as the blond started off at a gentle jog after our psychotic friend. Well, I guess getting addicted to eco was better than getting addicted to anything else.

I followed Jak and Amanda's trail of broken boxes, catching up just in time for Amanda to spin kick a lurker crab and have it burst into green and dark eco. We nabbed several Precursor Orbs and stowed them away in Jak's hyperspace backpack, then followed him and Daxter up one of the rickety wagon-wheel platform thingies. At the top of the cliff we found some more orbs and Jak pwned a lurker dog in the face before it could attack any of us. He also opened the first Scout Fly on the beach, which was also stuffed into his backpack.

The area of cliff above the beach didn't go all the way around it, but we walked across it to get out of the way of the cannon tower. There were lurkers at the top, and we could hear them going _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _as they tried to shoot us with the bombs. Jak seemed to be especially miffed about the lurkers on the tower. Every so often I'd catch him sending them a dirty look over his shoulder. He didn't like the fact they were there. It never occurred to me until then that the cannon tower might have just been the only primary defense Sandover had. Realistically speaking, if a threat ever happened to sail in from the sea, their only means of protecting themselves would have been the cannon's bombs.

Unthinkingly, I felt my fingertips brushing Jak's shoulder when he sent them a glare for the third or fifth time. He looked at me and I looked back. I hoped he saw what I was trying to say, using his own form of sign language. _We'll get rid of them. Somehow._

He must have understood, because he offered me a small grin and a nod in response.

"Look!" Daxter called, a few yards ahead with Amanda as his perch for the moment. "There's a Power Cell down there!"

Jak rushed forward and I huffed, struggling to keep up. Sure enough, there was a Power Cell directly below us in a small valley between the cliffs. Jak smirked triumphantly and surged forward without warning. He dropped off over the side and landed firmly in the sand, glancing up at us with a raised eyebrow. _Well? You guys coming or what?_

I shared a look with Amanda. It was a look of 'we're crazy just for considering it!' Daxter, on the other hand, was tugging on the sleeve of Amanda's teddy bear shirt to try and get her to move forward. "Aw c'mon! It's not that far down!" He smirked. "I'll be wit'cha the whooooollle way!"

His response was a deadpan glare from Amanda. She let out a sigh and reached up to hold our ottsel in place before taking two steps forward and letting herself fall. She landed with a grunt and fell onto her side, but Jak helped her up and once she was on two feet she didn't look at all worse for wear. Then they all looked at me.

Have you ever suffered from a small episode of vertigo? I can't exactly say I have, but that moment then had to have been pretty damn close. The cliff I was standing on couldn't have been more than ten feet above the sand, but suddenly it felt about a hundred yards below. My eyesight swam for a short moment and I felt dizzy. "Ah- I'm happy . . . up here."

"Don't be a baby." Amanda didn't miss a beat, rolling her eyes. "We did it, right?"

I blinked. "Uhh . . . "

"Por favor?" She probed, pouting.

"Je ne parle espagnol." I replied.

"Still don't speak French." Amanda huffed.

"Well, I still don't speak Spanish."

"Just get down here, already!"

I swallowed thickly and shuffled forward. Okay, maybe I was a baby. But I really, really, _really_ did not want to jump down. What if I landed wrong? What if I twisted something too seriously for even Green Eco to fix? What- what if-

"Ash."

I blinked and focused on Amanda again. She was grinning. Gently.

"It's okay."

I gulped one more time then nodded shakily. I took a deep breath, one step forward, and jumped.

Air rushed past my ears and I hit the ground with my knees. I hissed when pain rushed up from my legs to my spine and sat there for a few seconds to let it pass. When I looked up, Amanda was kneeling next to me and Jak was standing not too far away. She smirked at me. "See?" She chuckled, rising and holding out a hand. I took it and she helped me up. "Was that so bad?"

I frowned. "Maybe." I muttered, shifting my weight as Daxter leaped onto my shoulder so he wouldn't fall off. He nuzzled the side of my face before finally getting comfortable.

"Aw, you're just over-reacting," He chuckled. "Hey, I know what'll make you feel better."

"What?"

He pointed to the Power Cell that was literally only a few feet away, still floating and swirling innocently through the air. "Nab dat Power Cell!"

I did, but I decided against the dance, and let Jak pocket it. We took three steps before a lurker snake surged out of the sand, snapping at us but unable to get any closer. It was kind of pitiful, actually. We were so close, but still so far . . . Needless to say, Jak dealt with it and the next without any fuss or trouble.

The beach opened up for us as the lurkers on the cannon tower kept shooting. Their aim was so bad there was nothing to worry about. Still, it wasn't a smart idea to stand in one place for too long. I spotted the next Power Cell at the top of a nearby dune and pointed it out. Amanda ran toward it, but just like in the game the bitch pelican swooped in and stole it before she could touch it. "HEY!" She shouted after it, chasing for a moment but giving up soon after.

"That pelican just snatched a Power Cell!" Daxter seethed. "Let's head over there and kick some big bird butt!"

I patted him on the head. "Let it alone, Dax," I sighed. "I'm sure there's gotta be more around here somewhere. One isn't going to make much a difference."

The ottsel huffed, crossing his arms. He did refuse to argue the point further, so I counted that a win in this discussion. Jak led us toward the ridges that closely resembled steps and we scaled them back up the cliff while he collected the Precursor Orbs. At the top, a lurker dog spotted us and snarled its warning before it charged. Jak moved in front of us as always, but for some reason I was struck with an odd urge to try and fight too. I pryed Daxter off my shoulder and handed him off to Amanda. Running ahead, I passed Jak in his defensive stance and went after the lurker dog head on. I kicked it when it was close enough, getting the skull and thankfully not the jaws. The creature yelped and whimpered like a wounded puppy, recoiling from the hit.

I grinned. Yes! Score one for me!

That grin melted when the lurker dog simply picked itself up again, shaking its head in confusion. It's yellow eyes turned on me and they went rabid. Another snarl burst forth and it was suddenly racing back to my stunned and still form. I squeaked, because I didn't have enough time to scream. It was all I could do to hold up a hand to protect myself as it lunged.

_**FIGHT!**_

The word hit me like a gunshot and I gasped, falling to my knees. Dark eco swirled then vanished, and my skin absorbed the green eco. The stiffness in my knees from landing on them went with it. I closed my eyes as the world swam, and I struggled to focus. Amanda knelt beside me. "Are you alright?" She asked. I nodded but it made me dizzy all over again.

"What was that?" Daxter said, back on his usual perch on Jak's shoulder. I used Amanda as leverage to stand and glanced at them.

"What was what?" I repeated. Jak was giving me an odd look, and it was slowly but surely gnawing away at my confidence. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to rub away a sudden chill. He and I stared at each other for a few more moments before he turned to Daxter and pointedly shook his head. It was a silent message to drop the issue, and I was grateful. I looked around myself, frowning. What had happened anyway? One second the lurker was almost on top of me, and the next it was dissipating into the air. No transition. Just point A to point B with nothing in between. Weird.

I shook off the event as a side effect of my near-concussion from this morning, grateful that Jak had been so good at convincing Daxter to leave me alone. Amanda gave me a side-long look, one that was equal question and suspicion, before she shrugged and dropped the matter. Naturally, I'd be hearing about it in the morning.

The four of us continued through the grassed area around the corner toward the waterfall. As we walked, I stared up at the stone Precursor statues and wondered just how long it took to get them there. They looked ten times- no, at least a hundred times more mysterious in person than they were in the game. I could easily see why Samos had been so hard-pressed to try and figure out just who and/or what the Precursors were.

Around the corner and behind a little hut thing that may or may have not been some kind of 'watch' area before the beach was taken by lurkers, a pack of two sniffed us out and barked before charging. I stiffened but no more voices came, and Jak took them both out easily. Amanda smashed open the boxes and collected the green eco. It vanished within our bodies like usually but it didn't seem to have an effect. We must have been at 'full health' then. I only wished the eco could fix my eyes. I was seriously missing my glasses.

More Precursor Orbs were added to Jak's backpack, and we were walking over the stone bridge thing when I noticed what must have been Samos's green eco collectors. Okay, so maybe I stood under the spray of the waterfall for several seconds too many, but I was right there with everyone when we approached. They were like big, gray, paper balloons. Hung up at least ten feet off the ground by carved wooden sticks, they sat there looking pitiful, empty, and deflated. Underneath were the eco vents. Those were made of the same bronze-colored metal like the blue eco vent, but the vents themselves were clogged up just like Samos said. There were rocks and sticks, chunks of grass and god knows what else smashed in there. I counted five, just like I remembered, and a lurker dog not too far away. It didn't look like it had noticed us yet, so we left it alone.

I was the first to move, going to the closest one and pulling off a layer of dirt and grass and weeds. Instantly, the green mist began to ghost up and around me like a cloud. I smiled softly, because it was warm, and gentle, and suddenly the threat of nightmares didn't deter my thought for a small nap . . .

I stepped out of the cloud and the haze cleared. With it went my small and short sense of calm and security. Jak's lips were tweaked upwards again like he was expecting this, but I said nothing to him. Instead, we clear the rest of the harvesters and wouldn't you know it? A Power Cell flies out of the last one, right into Daxter's waiting hands- er, paws.

"_Well,_" Snorted Samos from the green radio. "_I see you lot have finally decided to unblock my collectors. I would offer my congratulations, but you've got _soo _much to do, well, I couldn't ever just waste your time._" He sounded so condescending that it was almost laughable. "_By the way,_" He added as an afterthought. "_If things don't work out, Daxter could always get a job controlling the village _rat_ problem!_" The old sage's voice cuts off into a string of laughter that I almost joined in on, but Amanda shot me a look and I know I shouldn't, because that would be mean. Daxter was glaring at the little radio even as it flew back to Jak's hand, it's message done.

"One of these days," He growled to himself. "I'm gonna be that old fart's only hope. And _I'm _not gonna help him."

Amanda cooed gently, scratching him behind the ears and all the fury in that fuzzy body melts into her touch. I shook my head at her shamelessness, but that was just to be expected. Queen of Fuzzies.

We turned and Jak moved to the head of the group to take out the lurker dog before it could so much as bark to show it knew we were there. I wasn't surprised by this. Whatever little . . . scene . . . I had a little while ago seemed to have stuck with him, because every time a lurker came close he was the one who ended it. Daxter, from his vantage point on Amanda's shoulder, pointed out that there were several Precursor Orbs above a ledge high over our heads. Amanda immediately deemed this a lost cause, but Jak waved her off like this was nothing and effortlessly did his little crouch-jump to catch the edge. He collected the orbs and even a Scout Fly, which rounded our total to about three in this area. He came back down and we moved to the end of the cliff area, and looked down at the beach below. This was the area where the stone temples, ones that were most likely newer stone imitations of the Precursor ones made from metal. Or maybe they were older. The game never expanded on this, so I was free to ponder.

The ricketing of the wagon wheel was still untrustworthy, but I liked it better than jumping off the edge. Jak went first, of course, since he was the 'big macho dude-in-charge-gotta-protect-the-chicks' guy, then me, then Amanda and Dax. Two of the lumbering lurkers, like the ones from Misty Island, spot us instantly and are rushing across the sand in their clumsy but effective gait. I was suddenly reminded of how they stood on the island, their bodies hunched over, heaving slightly with every large breath they took. Staring with rapt attention as Gol and Maia appeared from the very air around them in a burst of dark eco mist.

Gol. With his rasp of a voice and his rancid breath, in my face and into my lungs as I gagged. Maia smirking.

_**She's different . . . **_

" . . . igh?"

"What?" I look up.

The two lurkers are gone and so has a lurker crab. I look around us but there are no more threats for the moment, just a flock of gulls roosting on the stone temple floors. Amanda's the closest and her eyebrows had furrowed. Definitely not getting out of it now. I space out, sure, but this is just ridiculous. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, but the motion felt fake even to myself. "I think . . . lack of sleep?" It's the same excuse I used yesterday but she accepted it.

"You have been pretty restless," She said, with a faint note of skepticism in her tone. I laughed and brushed the whole thing off. Again.

"Ah, it's probably just the climate. And the sleeping in new places. I'm just not used to it yet. Hey Dax!"

The ottsel perks up on Amanda's shoulder.

"Wanna chase seagulls with me?"

His little round face split into a grin so large I briefly wondered if he was about to sever himself in two. Regardless, he abandoned Amanda's shoulder in favor of mine and together we go tearing across the temple laughing like idiots while seagulls squawk and hurry to escape the two cackling lunatics behind them.

"Ye-ah-ha-ha!" He shouted, wavering on my shoulder in his giddiness. "Let's do that again!"

"In a minute," I giggled, and we go up the steps to the top to find the fourth Scout Fly. I returned to Jak and Amanda on the beach, and from the looks on their faces I knew they were talking. Or, well, Amanda was talking and Jak was making expressions to respond with, but that was besides the point. I did my best to ignore their faces when I gave Jak the Scout Fly, and also tried to ignore the feeling of oddness that had started to fester below my ribcage. Jak had only known me for a couple days, a week at best, give or take how long Amanda and I had been unconscious since they found us. So why did he have the same amount of concern for me in his eyes that Amanda had in hers? It didn't make sense. But in this place, nothing made sense.

I took Daxter to the next temple structure but this time it wasn't as fun to chase the gulls, even though he was estatic again. We went to the stop and we found a Power Cell, and Daxter did the robot to celebrate. I laughed, because his anticts were funny and maybe he did them to cheer me up, but that sparked another question. How did he know I needed it?

The third structure had less birds, but Daxter chased them anyway and that was his entertainment. He shouted out "Whoo-hoo!" at the top of his lungs. After that, I knew it was coming but the following rumble and crumbling still made me jump from the sheer volume of it. We snapped our attention back to the waterfall, with the two sentry statues sat embedded in the rockface as the boulders surrounding them collapsed. One boulder bounced along the ledges then smashed into the cliff hard enough to stick it there, and another, smaller rock fell with it. It bounced too, but daintier, and landed without much fuss or theatrics. I squinted. There was something weird about that rock. What was it again?

"Wa-hoh!" Daxter cried, latching onto the back of my shirt with his claws. "Those _seagulls_ caused an avalanche! Let's go check it out!"

This sparked something in Jak's eyes. I notice him look my way but he turned his head away again so quickly, I wondered if I imagined it. Then he went to Amanda and tapped her shoulder, then pointed at me. No, at Daxter.

I had pretty much been under the impression that I was the only one who really got Jak's body language, but that was pretty arrogant of me to think so. Daxter had certainly been friends with the blond boy much longer than we were so that made _him_ the expert, not me, but I was still a little surprised that Amanda nodded so easily like she knew exactly what he wanted. I set down Daxter and let him scamper off to see what his friend wanted, then I climbed the temple steps and collected the Precursor Orbs at the top.

Up here, you could see for miles. I watched the ocean as it trailed off into blue oblivion, sky and water and the occasional lurker shark fin as it crested the waves. I wasn't worried about it. Up so high, where was nothing, nothing at all to be worried about. The air was salty but still sweet. I loved this scent, even if I hated the beach back home. Back home, the beach was polluted. Covered in trash because people just didn't care anymore. Water, filthy from that same trash. The sun, beating down so hard on the stupid girls laying out to tan their bodies. For what? Did darker skin mean you were prettier?

I stared at my hand in comparison. Not tan, but reddening. Sunburn. Great. Eco should probably get rid of that no problem.

Here there was no pollution. No tittering girls just following their brainwashed orders from their fashion magazines. Here there was no music, and that did upset me a little, but it was better. No fake, human-made electronic sounds. Just seagulls. The waves. The wind.

Jak's fingers brushed my arm.

I handed him the orbs without a pause and we descended the steps together. Amanda and Daxter weren't far, but I got the impression that they had decided to split up while I was up there. This annoyed me for some reason. Why did I get put with Jak? Wouldn't it have made more sense to split by the amount of familiarity?

I glanced at Jak from the corner of my eye and caught the flash of his profile. Prominent nose but not too big. Firm, angular jaw and chin. Boyish cheekbones and laugh lines. Bronzed skin, and muscles. Okay, so maybe tan _did_ look alright. Just a little bit.

I frowned and looked away with a red face when I remembered what Amanda had said the night before. _"You liiiiiiiiiiikeeeee hiiiiimmmmm!"_

I do not. I don't. He was just nice. Helpful and nice and the character in a video game that was probably just a hallucination in the first place. Ruggedly and boyishly handsome, yes, but he was still just a hallucination. I was just unconscious. Knocked out by a pillow. Yes. Amanda would be calling her mom and my mom and the ambulance and I'd wake up in the hospital soon enough.

In the meantime, I followed Jak toward the wagon wheel and we rode it back up the cliff together. Most of the lurkers had been taken care of by now, aside from the ones in the cannon tower and the odd lurker crab along the beach, so Jak relaxed himself somewhat. I chuckled at the action and he gave me a look. It wasn't harsh or irritated, but rather amused. But then the concern came back and I had to look away. I didn't like the feeling his worry gave me. It was bubbly, like the feeling when you drink too much soda pop and get on a roller coaster. When you feel like you're going to throw up but you know you won't.

Above the water and the sand and past Samos's eco collectors, we found that the smaller 'rock' had been another Power Cell. Of course it was. I remembered that now, now that the moment for that information had passed. "Eight." I said aloud to myself. Jak might have known I wasn't talking to him, but he nodded anyway. I watched him and he looked around in a circle, his blue eyes alert as always. I didn't know where the sudden subdued feeling had come from. Maybe it was the voices. Maybe it was me just reminding myself that all this wasn't real. Dreaming. I was just dreaming. That's all it was. A damn nice dream, but a dream regardless.

Jak nudged my shoulder and got my attention rather quickly. "Yeah?" He nodded his head toward the cliff, and I looked over my shoulder. "What about it?"

He pointed toward the collectors, and I followed his finger to the ramp leading up to another level. "Oh yeah." I forgot about that too. Up on that trail were blue eco clouds and I think a lurker dog or two, plus a Scout Fly box, a lot of orbs, and the egg. The egg tickled my brain for a minute, but I knew I'd remember at some point. "You go. I'll hang out here and wait." When he looked hesitant, I chuckled. "Aw come on. I know you wanna play with the sparky stuff. Go. Explore. But leave that big blue thing over there alone, will ya? I don't know what it is, but I think you should stay away from it."

Jak was pleased, and he bounds off without any more pause. Tch. Boys. At least he'd leave the egg alone. There was something about it. It had to do with that weird lady in the village.

Jak came back not too long later, with a dozen Precursor Orbs in his bag and our fifth Scout Fly. He motioned that there wasn't anything else up there, so we went back to the beach to catch up with Amanda and Daxter. Between them, they had our sixth Scout Fly and quite a few more orbs Put together I knew we had a lot, I didn't feel like counting them. Amanda told Jak there were some that had sank into the water, and after a brief moment where Daxter likened our friend as a submarine when he swam out to get them, even more orbs were added to the collection.

The seventh Scout Fly was achieved by punching some wide logs into the air from where they were embedded into the ground. Jak used it as a ledge to get onto a higher ledge, where he found the last fly and our ninth Power Cell.

Then we were back on the beach, and it became apparent that Daxter's fight with the pelican was not over. Not in the slightest.


End file.
